On June 29, 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued the report of the Special Committee on the Duration of Disbarment for Knowing Misappropriation by attorneys of clients’ funds. As we have in the past, we endorse the committee’s conclusion that disbarment should not always be permanent.

Unlike 41 other states and the District of Columbia, when an attorney in New Jersey is disbarred the loss of the privilege to practice law is permanent, without any prospect of readmission. Since the New Jersey Supreme Court’s 1979 decision of In Re Wilson, disbarment is mandatory when an attorney has knowingly misappropriated funds of a client. The committee recognizes that the court’s broad definition sweeps in a wide array of conduct. It is not relevant even if there are compelling circumstances or whether the wrongful conduct is inconsequential. The personal and professional reputation of the attorney is not to be considered. The Wilson rule has been continually criticized for its unfairness in a limited number of cases since its inception. Four former justices of the court have been troubled with this bright-line rule of attorney discipline.

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