Lawyer is suspended partly for fundraising appeal on law firm website
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A New York lawyer has been suspended in part because of a fundraising appeal on her Rochester law firm’s website.
The Appellate Division’s Fourth Judicial Department of the New York State Supreme Court suspended lawyer Chyrel Hall for “three years and until further order” of the court. The Legal Profession Blog notes the Sept. 27 decision.
Hall didn’t respond to the ethics petition, so the allegations were deemed to be admitted.
According to the appeals court, Hall was accused of neglecting two client matters and making misleading statements on her website.
The website solicited donations to a fund entitled “law firm support fund for indigent clients and attorneys.” Any donations would have been deposited into a bank account in Hall’s own name, according to the allegations.
The website stated that Hall’s law firm was “a New York firm, with Arizona PLLC” that maintained “satellite offices” in Oklahoma, according to the allegations. Hall was not admitted to practice in Arizona or Oklahoma, however.
Hall did not immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s request for comment.
