MEMBERS LOUANN VAN DER WIELE CHAIRPERSON REV. MICHAEL MURRAY VICE-CHAIRPERSON BARBARA WILLIAMS FORNEY SECRETARY JAMES A. FINK JOHN W. INHULSEN
JONATHAN E. LAUDERBACH KAREN D. O'DONOGHUE MICHAEL B. RIZIK, JR. LINDA S. HOTCHKISS, MD
STATE OF MICIDGAN ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE BOARD
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 ASSOCIATE COUNSEL SHERRY L. MIFSUD OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
ALLYSON M. PLOURDE CASE MANAGER OWEN R. MONTGOMERY CASE MANAGER JULIE M. LOISELLE RECEPTIONISTISECRETARY
NOTICE OF DISBARMENT AND RESTITUTION Case No. 17-117-GA Notice Issued: February 22,2018 Jonathan F. Rosenthal, P 66851, Franklin, Michigan, by the Attorney Discipline Board Tri County Hearing Panel #72.
Disbarred, Effective February 21,20181 Based on respondent's default, the hearing panel found that respondent committed professional misconduct when he inflated costs for an expert witness while representing four plaintiffs in a civil suit and then failed to pay the expert's fee resulting in the plaintiffs having to withdraw their suit; misrepresented to another client the amount of court ordered sanctions; failed to pay court reporter invoices resulting in the entry of a civil judgment against respondent; and failed to respond to two requests for investigation.
Specifically, the panel found that respondent neglected a legal matter entrusted to him and handled a legal matter he should have known he was not competent to handle, in violation of MRPC 1.1 (a) and (c); failed to seek the lawful objectives of a client through reasonably available means permitted by law, in violation of MRPC 1.2(a); failed to keep a client reasonably informed and failed to explain a matter to the extent necessary for a client to make informed decisions, in violation of MRPC 1.4(a) and (b); failed to promptly payor deliver funds provided by his clients for payment of litigation costs that a third person was entitled to receive, and failed to render a proper accounting, in violation of MRPC 1.15(b)(3); failed to hold client funds separate from his own, failed to deposit funds in an IOL TA or non-IOL TA trust account, and failed to otherwise safeguard funds provided by his clients for litigation costs, in violation of MRPC 1.15(d); upon termination of the representation, failed to take reasonable steps to protect the client's interest, in violation of MRPC 1.16(d); failed to respond to a lawful demand for information from a disciplinary authority, in violation of MRPC 8.1 (a)(2); and failed to answer a request for investigation, in violation of MCR 9.104(7), MCR 9.113(A) and MCR 9.113(B)(2). Respondent was also found to have violated MCR 9.104(1 )-(4) and MRPC 8.4(a)-(c).
The panel ordered that respondent be disbarred from the practice of law in Michigan and that he pay restitution in the total amount of $22,812.25. Costs were assessed in the amount of $1,998.50.
~a~ Mark A. Armitage Executive Director
1 Respondent has been continuously suspended from the practice of law in Michigan since December 12, 2017. Please see Notice of Interim Suspension Pursuant to MeR 9.115(H)(1), issued December 15,2017.