Unhappy Secretary's Report Spurs Ethics Trouble for NJ Litigator
An unhappy secretary has brought ethics troubles for a prominent product liability lawyer in New Jersey.
The New Jersey Disciplinary Review Board has recommended that litigator David Gross be disbarred for failing to share a $50,000 check with his law firm partners, the New Jersey Law Journal reports. Gross’ secretary, Claudette McCarthy, revealed the check to Gross’ partners at Budd Larner four years after he received it in 1998.
Gross, a former president of the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey, had contended the money was a gift from a client that did not have to be shared with the firm, the story says. The firm had already received $5 million in fees from the same client.
McCarthy had a good relationship with Gross when she typed a letter advising the client to mark the check containing the payment “personal and confidential,” the discipline board said. McCarthy said Gross told her to keep the letter a secret.
McCarthy testified that her working relationship with Gross deteriorated when she refused to do work for Gross’ wife, also a lawyer at the law firm.
McCarthy testified that Gross had called her a “f—ing idiot” and refused her vacation request, the story says. She admitted she revealed the check as payback for her treatment.
