MEMBERS STATE OF MICHIGAN REV. MICHAEL MURRAY CHAIRPERSON JONATHAN E. LAUDERBACH ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE BOARD 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
211 WEST FORT STREET, SUITE 1410
DETROIT, MICHIGAN 48226·3236 PHONE: 313.963·5553 I FAX: 313·963·5571
MARK A. ARMITAGE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
WENDY A. NEELEY DEPUTY DIRECTOR
KAREN M. DALEY ASSOCIA TE COUNSEL
SHERRY L. MIFSUD OFFICE ADMINISTRAT OR
ALLY SON M. PLOURDE CASE MANAGER
OWEN R. MONTGOMERY CASE MANAGER
JULIE M. LOISELLE RECEPTION/STISECRETARY
NOTICE OF SUSPENSION (By Consent)
Case No. 18-115-GA
Notice Issued: February 15, 2019
Ronald Thomas Bruce, Jr., P 62579, Monroe, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board Tri-County Hearing Panel #2.
Suspension - 90 Days, Effective November 30, 20181
The respondent and the Grievance Administrator filed a Stipulation for Consent Order of Discipline, in accordance with MCR 9.115{F)(5), which was approved by the Attorney Grievance Commission and accepted by the hearing panel. The stipulation contained respondent's admissions that he committed acts of professional misconduct when, from July through November 2017, he held himself out to the public or otherwise represented that he was admitted to practice law, by maintaining his law firm under his name; and by having attorney Timothy Laitur make court appearances on behalf of the law firm and file pleadings on behalf of the law firm.
Based upon respondent's admissions and the stipulation of the parties, the panel found that respondent practiced law in a jurisdiction in violation of the regulation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction, or assisted another in doing so, in violation of MRPC 5.5(a); though not admitted to practice law in this jurisdiction, established an office or other systematic and continuous presence in this jurisdiction for the practice of law, in violation of MRPC 5.5(b)( 1); though not admitted to practice in this jurisdiction, held himself out to the public or otherwise represented that he was admitted to practice law in this jurisdiction, in violation of MRPC 5.5(b)(2); used or partiCipated in the use of a form of public communication that was false, fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive, and contained a material misrepresentation of fact or omitted a fact necessary to make the statement considered as a whole not materially misleading, in violation of MRPC 7.1 (a); used a firm name, letterhead, or other profeSSional designation that violated MRPC 7.1, in violation of MRPC 7.5(a); stated or implied that he practiced in a partnership or other organization, when that was not the fact, in violation of MRPC 7.5(d); during the period of his suspension, engaged in conduct that constituted the practice of law, in violation of MCR 9.119(E){1); during the period of his suspension, appeared as an attorney before a court, in violation of MCR 9.119{E)(3); and during the period of his suspension, held himself out as an attorney, in violation of MCR 9.119(E)(4). Respondent was also found to have violated MCR 9.104(1)-(4); and MRPC 8.4(a) and (c). , I n accordance with the stipulation of the parties, the hearing panel ordered that respondent's license t ctice law in Michigan be suspended for 90 days. Costs were assessed in the amount of $765.24 . . :/1d a Mark A. Armitage, Executive Director
1 Respondent has been continuously suspended from the practice of law in Michigan since June 30, 2017. See Notice of Suspension and Restitution With Condition, Grievance Administrator V Ronald Thomas Bruce, Jr., Case No. 16-101-GA, issued February 23,2018.