A Chester County attorney was suspended for five years after admitting to taking money from his firm, lying to a court that a client agreed to settle a lawsuit filed against her by Lamb McErlane, and neglecting clients after starting his own firm.

Attorney Joshua A. Janis entered a joint petition for suspension that was approved Nov. 25 by the Supreme Court. The suspension goes into effect Dec. 25.

Janis was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 2006. He worked for Ciccarelli Law Offices in West Chester from 2006 through 2013 when he resigned after Lee Ciccarelli confronted Janis about complaints that Janis was not communicating with family law clients, according to the joint petition.
At an August 2013 meeting, Janis admitted to Ciccarelli that Janis had taken nearly $6,000 from four firm clients that should have gone to the firm.