Disbarment Sought for Former Holland & Knight Partner
The District of Columbia Bar Counsel is seeking the disbarment of a former partner at Holland & Knight for allegedly forging signatures on an agreement for an easement.
Theodore Silva Jr. is accused of lying to the law firm and a client about the status of the agreement, then forging signatures and presenting the agreement to the client, Legal Times reports. The firm fired Silva in 2006 after the incident and reported him to the bar counsel, the story says.
Silva testified before a hearing committee that he didn’t consider himself to be honest and trustworthy, according to the story. “I think that I can get over on everybody and that I can manipulate people, and that is what led me to this, is that I can pull this out of the hat and I did it a thousand times,” he testified.
Silva’s lawyer, Timothy Battle, is claiming his client’s misconduct was caused by alcohol and cocaine addiction, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Battle described the incident in a brief as a “single example of stupid conduct in an otherwise impressive and productive 18-year career.”
Silva has also received a Jan. 31 reprimand (PDF) from the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board for failing to report a guilty plea to cocaine possession. The plea was vacated after Silva complied with court-imposed conditions. He is currently in a drug treatment program, Battle told the publication.
