Manchester lawyer facing disbarment for misappropriating money

[Silent_Bob]

http://www.unionleader.com/Manchester-lawyer-facing-disbarment-for-misappropriating-money?template=mobileart

CONCORD - A Manchester attorney is facing disbarment for misappropriating a "significant sum of money" that he held in a special needs trust, according to a New Hampshire Supreme Court order.

Attorney Brandon D. Ross was suspended from the practice of law in New Hampshire last Tuesday. He has until Friday to request a hearing on the issue of whether the interim suspension should be lifted, according to the Supreme Court order dated June 30.

The court said Ross, in filing a "Stipulation to Disbarment," agreed he had violated several Rules of Professional Conduct in his handling of a special needs trust.

The New Hampshire Union Leader was unable to reach Ross for comment.

"Specifically, Attorney Ross conceded that he had misappropriated a significant sum of money that he was holding in a special needs trust. In the stipulation, Attorney Ross also conceded that disbarment is the appropriate sanction for his misconduct," according to the Supreme Court.

The court found that Ross' immediate suspension was necessary to protect the public and to preserve the integrity of the legal profession.

The court ordered the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) to initiate disciplinary proceedings requesting a discipline of greater than six months and filed its recommendation and the record of the proceedings with the Supreme Court.

The court said it appears that the "Stipulation of Disbarment" has not been reviewed by the PCC and ordered it to do so on or before Aug. 1 and then submit its recommendation.

Ross, in articles published in the New Hampshire Union Leader, self-identified as a Free Stater and Republican. He came from Maryland to New Hampshire in 2010 as part of the Free State Project that has a goal of relocating 20,000 people to New Hampshire with the purpose of reducing the size of state government.

According to his LinkedIn page, Ross is a graduate of Michigan State University, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering, and also holds degrees in math and economics from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. He earned his law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.

He was one of three plaintiffs who, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union - New Hampshire, challenged a law that made "ballot selfies" illegal.

Ross posted his photograph of his November 2014 ballot online after learning the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office was prosecuting two others for doing it.

"Come at me, bro," Ross wrote when he posted the photo online.

Prosecutors did, but ultimately U.S. District Judge Paul Barbadoro struck down the law, saying it was "a content-based restriction on speech that cannot survive strict scrutiny."

[Russell Kanning]

last time I saw him he was bagging on Evan Pierce and Kat

[Free libertarian]

"The court found that Ross' immediate suspension was necessary to protect the public and to preserve the integrity of the legal profession."   

...Oh the irony

[WithoutAPaddle]

It does seem that looting money held in trust is the only thing that New Hampshire lawyers get reamed for.  I think it is blowback from the Judge Fairbanks fiasco.  I remember back when attorney Doug Gray (not to be confused with retired Judge Doug Gray) was getting disbarred, I spoke with a lawyer who was involved, and he just shook his head at the notion that a lawyer would have to do what Gray did, since he could make so much money off the trust account funds legally.  While he didn't go into any detail of how that might be done, and surely wouldn't have even if I had asked, lawyers can simply abuse their fiduciary powers to "mismanage" funds to their benefit and no one can lay a glove on them when they do that.

[Russell Kanning]

"The court found that Ross' immediate suspension was necessary to protect the public and to preserve the integrity of the legal profession."   

...Oh the irony

hey our president and next president are both in the legal profession in good standing with the bar.

[KBCraig]

"The court found that Ross' immediate suspension was necessary to protect the public and to preserve the integrity of the legal profession."   

...Oh the irony

hey our president and next president are both in the legal profession in good standing with the bar.

Hillary hasn't had a law license since 2002, and Barack hasn't had his since 2008.

[WithoutAPaddle]

"The court found that Ross' immediate suspension was necessary to protect the public and to preserve the integrity of the legal profession."   

...Oh the irony

hey our president and next president are both in the legal profession in good standing with the bar.

Hillary hasn't had a law license since 2002, and Barack hasn't had his since 2008.

I think it is fairly common among high ranking government officials to let their Bar license lapse or to actually withdraw it, just so that their political adversaries cannot abuse the Professional Conduct complaint process to harass them.

[Russell Kanning]

that is funny

[Tom Sawyer]

Yeah, professional liar and Professional Conduct kind of clash. 

[Jay]

So, what exactly did he do? Every time I've ever asked about the shitty things he's supposedly done, people have been secretive about it.

[Tom Sawyer]

So, what exactly did he do? Every time I've ever asked about the shitty things he's supposedly done, people have been secretive about it.

I was referring to politicians. But, what I remember discussed on the forum and have been told, involved him being accused of mishandling of funds. Besides being kind of arrogant toward Russell.

[Free libertarian]

So, what exactly did he do? Every time I've ever asked about the shitty things he's supposedly done, people have been secretive about it.

He's a lawyer, let your imagination run wild.  (smiley emoticon)

[Silent_Bob]

The punishment is for getting *caught*.

[Russell Kanning]

you can ask Seth Hipple

[Silent_Bob]

See attached.