Joel Brandes was disbarred by the Appellate Division, Second Department on April 28, 2002. After waiting the required seven years, he first applied for reinstatement in 2009. That application was denied in an order which merely stated that he did not possess the character and fitness to practice law. Important to this tale is the fact that on this initial application he revealed that he was doing paralegal work for New York attorneys over the Internet from his home in Florida.1
A second application for reinstatement was filed by Brandes in 2010, again revealing that he had been performing paralegal services for attorneys from his home in Florida. This application went before a subcommittee of the Committee on Character and Fitness. At the hearing, he was asked about his paralegal business. The subcommittee recommended reinstatement, noting: “Since Petitioner never spoke to or met a client and only dealt with attorneys, the Petitioner did not violate any New York Disciplinary Rules applicable to disbarred attorneys.” However, the full Character Committee voted 12-11 to deny reinstatement because his website did not state that he was not an attorney—although his website prominently stated that Joel R. Brandes Consulting Services was not a law firm and did not give legal advice. In a decision dated Dec. 17, 2012, the court, inter alia, denied him reinstatement in a one line decision stating that he did not possess the character and fitness to practice law.
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