Don’t Lie About Your Trip

cubaA New York lawyer was disbarred on July 14, 2015 for lying to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency on a reentry form “on which he falsely stated that the only country he had visited while outside the United States was Mexico, when in fact he had also traveled to Cuba.” See In re Marc E. Verzani, 2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 06098 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. App. Div. 1st Dep. Jul. 14, 2015). He had previously pleaded guilty to a federal felony (for violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001) and received two years of probation.

Louisiana likewise brands as professional misconduct any conduct constituting a “criminal act” and any “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.” See Louisiana Rules of Prof’l Cond. Rule 8.4. Nevertheless, disbarment seems a little harsh for this.

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