Eleven Connecticut attorneys faced penalties after ethics charges, according to the latest roundup of attorney discipline cases.

The sanctions include suspensions, discipline with conditions, reprimands and presentments, according to the Statewide Grievance Committee's January report, released Feb. 7.

Here's a look at the attorneys, listed alphabetically, whose ethics charges led to discipline or court actions.

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Jose Altamirano

Danbury attorney Jose Altamirano, who was cited in the December roundup of attorney discipline, faces two presentments, according to the January list.

The presentments revolve around Altamirano allegedly failing to appear in court with his client for pretrial matters. The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel claimed the attorney did not communicate with his client, and failed to take part in two pretrials. In the second presentment, the reviewing committee of the Statewide Grievance Committee found the attorney took no action with regard to a complainant's prenuptial agreement.

The attorney was placed on interim suspension, effective Dec. 5, for misconduct. That action stemmed from several grievance complaints against Altamirano, including a legal malpractice suit alleging his inaction led to a default judgment against his client.

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Paul Buhl

East Haddam attorney Paul Buhl has been suspended, effective Oct. 15, from practicing law for two years for driving with a suspended license and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and two years' probation for the traffic violations.

Buhl has had previous arrests for driving under the influence in June 2015 and then 16 months later. The latest incident occurred in March 2019. In a 2018 interview with the Connecticut Law Tribune, Buhl said his 2015 and 2016 arrests were due to a medical condition known as hypothyroidism, which can cause unsteadiness and weakness.

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Kelly Carden

Kelly Carden, who lives in Rhode Island and is licensed to practice law in Connecticut, was suspended for five months, retroactive to Jan. 1, for her role in a civil action.

The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel said the complainant, who was conservator of his grandfather, retained Carden's services to bring a civil suit against two individuals for conversion and breach of fiduciary duties. The complainant, according to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, communicated his concerns to Carden that the defendants in the case would be transferring property. He requested that Carden obtain a prejudgment remedy of attachment, which would have allowed him to access the defendant's assets before the case ended.

But the complainant alleged it took Carden about two months to file the document, despite repeated requests.

"The respondent was not responsive to the complainant," according to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel.

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Don Carlos Jr.

Stamford attorney Don Carlos Jr. was suspended 3 1/2 years—2 1/2 years of which reflected a suspension in New York. The Connecticut suspension is retroactive to Oct. 2, 2018.

In New York, Carols was suspended for alleged misconduct that included misappropriation of client funds, commingling personal funds with clients or third-party funds, failure to maintain required bookkeeping records, and failure to pay personal incomes taxes for multiple tax years, among other violations.

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David Chomick

Glastonbury attorney David Chomick faces a second sanction.

Back in October 2019, the attorney was disciplined for accepting a retainer, but then not performing the work for the client. He was also suspended for six months for not taking continuing legal education courses, as ordered. In the latest sanction from the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, Chomick is said to have failed to provide evidence of his in-person completion of his 2019 minimum continuing legal education courses, as well as failing to provide evidence that he has updated his registration with the Statewide Grievance Committee.

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Stephanie Czap

Attorney Stephanie Czap is facing a presentment over her work as a conservator for her client's brother. Czap allegedly failed to provide a proper accounting of her client's paperwork, the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel said.

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Chris Gauthier

The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel has suspended Montville attorney Chris Gauthier for 30 days, effective Jan. 27. The attorney must also take three credit hours of continuing legal education after his role in representing a client in a dissolution of marriage case.

The complainant maintains the attorney allegedly failed to adequately represent him in the case. The reviewing committee of the Statewide Grievance Committee also ordered the attorney to pay restitution of $435 to Joseph Benway, his former client.

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Syed Hassan

Bloomfield attorney Syed Hassan is facing an interim suspension, effective immediately.

Hassan allegedly failed to cooperate with a random audit of his Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts, or IOLTA. The attorney was granted several extensions, but still did not cooperate, the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel said.

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Kent Mawhinney

Superior Court Judge David Sheridan, acting on a request from the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, suspended attorney Kent Mawhinney on Jan. 28.

Mawhinney has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder for his alleged role in the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, whose husband, Fotis Dulos, died by suicide while awaiting trial for murder.

Mawhinney has been an attorney for 29 years.

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Jonathan Newman

Madison attorney Jonathan Newman is facing a reprimand related to the representation of his wife, Susan.

The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel said Susan Newman, in a grievance hearing, falsely testified that a tow truck had been called to retrieve her car in Waterbury when, in fact, her husband had traveled to Waterbury via Uber the following morning to retrieve the vehicle.

Jonathan Newman had an obligation as an attorney to bring the false testimony to the Statewide Grievance Committee's attention, but allegedly did not, the charges allege.

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Eric Parham

Eric Parham, who lives in Canada and is licensed to practice law in Connecticut, has been suspended for one year, effective Jan. 29.

Parham's former wife, Joan Jiang, filed a grievance complaint against him, alleging unpaid child support payments and court costs. Parham is allegedly nearly $60,000 in arrears on his court-ordered child support payments, and has unpaid court costs of nearly $70,000.

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