Harvey Newkirk, the former Bryan Cave attorney convicted of helping a client try to cheat lenders out of millions of dollars in a failed attempt to buy Maxim magazine, has been disbarred.

A unanimous Appellate Division, First Department, panel has accepted Newkirk's request for an order approving his resignation and disbarring him. The panel wrote that Newkirk “attests that he cannot successfully defend himself against allegations of professional misconduct based upon his conviction.” In December 2015, a federal jury convicted Newkirk of wire fraud but he was acquitted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

As part of the disbarment order, the panel instructed Newkirk to pay $3.1 million in restitution to OpenGate Capital, a California entity that Newkirk has identified as a victim of his fraud, according to the panel.

At his 2016 sentencing, Newkirk was already ordered by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff of the Southern District of New York to pay $3.1 million in restitution, equaling the amount of actual loss in the Maxim scheme. Rakoff also gave him six months in prison and three years of supervised release.

Pursuant to Judiciary Law § 90(6-a) and Rakoff's order, Newkirk was ordered to consent to an entry of the restitution order by the First Department, which he did.

Newkirk's monthlong trial in late 2015 drew headlines across a broad spectrum of New York press and many lawyers followed its twists and turns. A graduate of Ivy League universities as both an undergraduate and law student, Newkirk appeared to be another Big Law success story. He worked as a transactional lawyer, with the title of counsel, at Bryan Cave. Before that, he spent time at both K&L Gates and the now-defunct Thelen.

But his all-out bid to help client Calvin Darden Jr. win the sale of Maxim—which Newkirk allegedly hoped would provide him with a large financial bonus from transaction fees and put him on the partnership track—led to his undoing.

When Newkirk met Darden in 2009, Darden was an ex-stockbroker who had recently served several years in a state prison for stealing almost $6 million from Wall Street firms and investors, according to news reports.

Yet in 2013, Newkirk and Darden began pursuing together the acquisition of the men's lifestyle magazine, Maxim, prosecutors said.

For six months, they misled lenders by falsely promising them that a company tied to Darden's father, Calvin Darden Sr., was the actual buyer, prosecutors argued. They also claimed that Darden Sr.—a successful businessman and former United Parcel Service executive who serves on Coca-Cola Enterprises' board—would pledge his assets as security for the deal. Prosecutors alleged Newkirk and Darden Jr. forged documents about Darden Sr.'s involvement, and drew up fake bank account statements and emails for lenders, helping the pair to borrow $8 million. They also tried to secure another $20 million, according to prosecutors.

But in reality, Darden Sr. provided no financial support for the deal and he never hired Newkirk. His only role was to give his son some advice, prosecutors said.

Darden Jr. pleaded guilty before Newkirk went to trial and flipped for prosecutors. He took the stand against his former lawyer. Newkirk, represented by Priya Chaudhry and Jonathan Harris, partners at Harris, St. Laurent & Chaudhry in Manhattan, dramatically took the stand himself, arguing that he had been fooled by Darden Jr.  Harris, drumming home the argument, called Darden Jr. a “world-class con man.”

At the 2016 sentencing, Rakoff all but ignored guidelines that called for Newkirk to receive 14 to 17 years in prison. He called Newkirk's case an example of “one of the many problems” with the guidelines, and noted that the amount of loss involved in the crime drives the sentence, which can result in extreme swings. The case called for a “nuanced sentence,” Rakoff said. “I don't agree with the government that this was a man motivated by endless greed … The truth so often lies in between,” he added.

The First Department panel, comprised of Justices Sallie Manzanet-Daniels, Judith Gische, Angela Mazzarelli, Barbara Kapnick and Troy Webber, noted in its Feb. 22 disbarment opinion that Newkirk had been admitted to practice law in 2003.

“[Darden Sr.] never agreed to provide financial backing for the [Maxim] acquisition, nor did he authorize [Newkirk] to represent him,” the justices wrote.

They also pointed out that the Attorney Grievance Committee for the department did not oppose Newkirk's motion for resignation and disbarment.

Newkirk's $3.1 million restitution is less than any amounts already paid by him or others to OpenGate. He must reimburse the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection for any money it has paid out with regard to the $3.1 million loss.

Newkirk represented himself pro se in the disbarment.

Chaudhry, his trial attorney, noted by phone on Tuesday that, given Newkirk's conviction, his disbarment was automatic.

“If Mr. Newkirk reapplies [to the bar] after seven years [the requisite waiting time], it would be a loss if the New York bar did not consider readmitting him,” she said. “He is an excellent attorney.”