MEMBERS REV. MICHAEL MURRAY CHAIRPERSON JONATHAN E. LAUDERBACH VICE-CHAIRPERSON BARBARA WILLIAMS FORNEY
SECRETARY JAMES A. FINK JOHN W. INHULSEN KAREN D. O'DONOGHUE MICHAEL B. RIZIK, JR.
LINDA S. HOTCHKISS, MD ANNA FRUSHOUR
STATE OF MICHIGAN ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE BOARD
333 WEST FORT STREET, SUITE 1700
DETROIT, MICHIGAN 48226-3147 PHONE: 313-963-5553 I FAX: 313-963-5571
MARK A. ARMITAGE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
WENDY A. NEELEY DEPUTY DIRECTOR
KAREN M. DALEY ASSOCIATE COUNSEL
SHERRY L. MIFSUD OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
ALLYSON M. PLOURDE CASE MANAGER
OWEN R. MONTGOMERY CASE MANAGER
JULIE M. LOISELLE RECEPTION/STISECRETARY
NOTICE OF SUSPENSION AND RESTITUTION WITH CONDITIONS
Case No. 18-141-GA
Notice Issued: September 5,2019
Joshua R. Gordon, P 37782, Hamtramck, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board Tri County Hearing Panel #1.
Suspension - Nine Months, Effective August 30, 2019.
Based on respondent's default, the hearing panel found that respondent committed professional misconduct when he failed to communicate the basis or rate of his fee to the mother of his client whom he was representing in a criminal matter, failed to refund an advance payment of fees that had not been earned, failed to timely answer a request for investigation, and knowingly failed to respond to a lawful demand for information from a disciplinary authority.
The panel found that respondent failed to communicate the basis or rate of the legal fee, in violation of MRPC 1.5(b); failed to timely refund an unearned fee and surrender papers to which the client is entitled, in violation of MRPC 1.16(d); knowingly failed to timely respond to a lawful demand for information from a disciplinary authority, in violation of MRPC 8.1 (a)(2); and failed to timely answer a Request for Investigation in conformity with MCR 9.113, in violation of MCR 9.104(7). Respondent was also found to have violated MRPC 8.4(c); and MCR 9.104(1)-(4).
The panel ordered that respondent's license to practice law be suspended for a period of nine months, that he be required to pay restitution in the amount of $2,000.00, and that he be subject to conditions relevant to the established misconduct. Costs were assessed in the amount of $1,762.25. a Mark A. Armitage Executive Director