In the Matter of William Jarblum, an Attorney, Respondent. DEPARTMENTAL DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE FOR THE FIRST JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT, Petitioner.
First Department
February 28, 2008
852 NYS2d 98
Alan W. Friedberg, Chief Counsel, Departmental Disciplinary Committee, New York City (Orlando Reyes of counsel), for petitioner.
OPINION OF THE COURT
Per Curiam.
Respondent was admitted to the practice of law in the State of New York by the First Judicial Department on February 22, 1971. Respondent currently resides in California, where he was also admitted to practice law in 1996.
The Departmental Disciplinary Committee seeks an order pursuant to
In October 2005, respondent entered into a stipulation with the California bar. Respondent stipulated to the following facts. From June 2000 to June 2003 he was corporate counsel and escrow agent for Pulse-LINK, Inc. (the corporation). The corporation’s escrow account was maintained at a bank in New York. In October 2002, more than $1.9 million of investor funds were transferred into the escrow account for ultimate disbursement to the corporation.
As of March 17, 2003, respondent had remitted $1.2 million of those escrow funds to the corporation and, on or about April 10, 2003, the investors directed respondent to release an additional $800,000. However, on or about April 15, respondent e-mailed the corporation—“I am arranging wire transfer of $700,000 today. I beg your indulgence on the last $100,000 as I work out some issues here.” Respondent then went ahead and transferred approximately $700,000 to the corporation.
On or about May 2, 2003, an attorney acting on behalf of the corporation demanded that respondent immediately forward the remaining funds, but he did not. By June 12, 2003, the $100,000 at issue was no longer in the escrow account. Respondent stipulated that—“between on or about November 29, 2002, and June 12, 2003, Respondent had either transferred the funds to his personal account or used the money for his own benefit.” In June 2003, the corporation filed suit against respondent to collect the missing $100,000 and in May 2004, the court rendered a judgment, pursuant to a stipulation of the parties, awarding $150,000 to Pulse-LINK. In July 2005, respondent paid an initial $50,000 toward that judgment. Notification of the foregoing conduct was made to the California bar.
Respondent presented mitigating circumstances which were incorporated into the parties’ stipulation. Among other things, respondent had no disciplinary history since his New York admission in 1971. His move to California in 1994 followed a bitter divorce and separated him from his two young daughters, and shortly after the move his widowed mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This caused him and his sister to shoulder great financial responsibility for nursing care, exacerbating the financial fallout of the divorce which resulted in his relinquishment of the family home and large alimony and child support payments. At one point, respondent was paying $75,000 per year for his daughters to attend private colleges. Respondent also provided character references.
The stipulation was approved by a judge of the State Bar Court and was then submitted to the California Supreme Court, which adopted it in full. Accordingly, on February 1, 2006, the California Supreme Court, accepting the sanction recommended in the stipulation, inter alia, suspended respondent for three years and until completion of the payment of restitution in the amount of $100,000 plus 10% interest from May 27, 2004, such restitution to be paid in semiannual installments of $16,666.60 to Pulse-Link, Inc. Such suspension was stayed and respondent was placed on probation for three years, resulting in an “actual” suspension of two years.
Respondent did not notify the Committee of his California suspension as required by
Since this proceeding is seeking reciprocal discipline pursuant to
Since respondent has not submitted a response to this petition, he has not raised any of the aforementioned defenses, nor could he where he fully participated in the California disciplinary matter by entering into an agreement whereby he stipulated to the facts, the conclusions of law and the recommended sanction. Moreover, respondent’s admitted misconduct would constitute misconduct in this state. In California, respondent was found to have wilfully violated
As no available defense under
Therefore, inasmuch as the two year actual suspension imposed by the Supreme Court of California is in accord with
Accordingly, the Committee’s petition for reciprocal discipline should be granted, and respondent suspended from the practice of law in the State of New York for two years.
Lippman, P.J., Tom, Mazzarelli, Andrias and Williams, JJ., concur.
Respondent suspended from the practice of law in the State of New York for a period of two years, effective the date hereof and until further order of this Court.