Disbarment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Disbarment is a penalty for lawyers. It consists of no longer being allowed to practice law or argue cases. For most lawyers, this can essentially mean no longer having a livelihood.

Generally disbarment is imposed as a sanction for conduct indicating that an attorney is not fit to practice law, such as being convicted of a felony, willfully disregarding the interests of a client, or engaging in fraud which impedes the administration of justice.

In the United States legal system, disbarment is specific to regions; one can be disbarred from some courts, while still being a member of the bar in another jurisdiction. However, under the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which have been adopted in most states, disbarment in one state or court is grounds for disbarment in a jurisdiction which has adopted the Model Rules.

Disbarment is quite rare. Instead, lawyers are usually sanctioned by their own clients through civil malpractice proceedings, or via fine, censure, suspension, fines, or other punishments from the disciplinary boards. To be disbarred is considered a great embarrassment and shame, even if one no longer wishes to pursue a career in the law; it is akin, in effect, to a dishonorable discharge in a military situation.

Notably, the 20th Century saw two U.S. presidents and one U.S. vice-president disbarred. Vice President Spiro Agnew, having pleaded no contest to charges of bribery and tax evasion, was disbarred from Maryland, the state of which he had previously been governor.

Presidents Clinton and Nixon have been disbarred from their home states. President Richard Nixon was disbarred from his home state of New York for obstruction of justice, while Bill Clinton was disbarred from his home state of Arkansas for his evasive and unbecoming conduct under oath during the Monica Lewinsky and Whitewater scandals. Clinton, like Agnew, had been governor of the state from which he was later disbarred.