Newly Licensed Solo Reprimanded for Exaggerating Experience in Online Profiles
A solo practitioner licensed to practice law in 2010 has been reprimanded for exaggerating his experience on law firm websites and in online profiles.
The South Carolina Supreme Court says in a public reprimand released today that Dannitte Mays Dickey mischaracterized his legal skills through misleading statements on two websites and exaggerated his experience in online profiles. The Legal Profession Blog notes the discipline and says it was imposed by consent.
Dickey, a 2008 law grad, violated lawyer ethics rules by falsely stating on the websites that he had graduated from law school in 2005 and falsely stating he had handled matters in federal court, the court said. He also listed about 50 practice areas in which he had little or no experience.
He also set up Internet profiles at LinkedIn, lawyers.com and other online directories that contained “material misrepresentations of fact by overstating and exaggerating respondent’s reputation, skill, experience and past results,” the court said.
