N.Y. Lawyer Suspended During Probe of Withdrawals from Judge’s Estate
A New York lawyer has been temporarily suspended after she failed to cooperate with investigators looking into her withdrawal of hundreds of thousands of dollars from a judge’s estate for which she was guardian.
Emani Taylor will be suspended pending the outcome of a disciplinary proceeding, the New York Law Journal reports. She has been accused of withdrawing $327,100 from the accounts of retired Brooklyn judge John Phillips.
Taylor maintains she withdrew the money to pay herself and others for services based on a judicial order for the sale of property. But the Appellate Division, 1st Department, said the judge’s order did not concern legal fees.
“While [Taylor] was entitled to be compensated for the work she performed for three years, self-help to guardianship funds is not the way to proceed,” the court said. It ordered her suspension because her conduct “immediately threatens the public interest.”
