Legal Ethics
Lawyer Suspended for Client Loans
A prominent personal injury lawyer has been suspended for loaning money to his clients through intermediaries.
A New York appeals court ordered an 18-month suspension for James J. Moran of Moran & Kufta in Rochester, N.Y., the New York Law Journal reports.
The court ruled the loans circumvented lawyer disciplinary rules that bar lawyers from advancing or guaranteeing financial assistance to clients beyond the expenses of litigation.
Moran had stated he helped provide the loans for her clients’ personal expenses so they would not be forced to borrow money at exorbitant rates.
