The First Department, however, observed that the censure was being issued because typically this would have been the result if other lawyers engaged in similar conduct.
The court wrote “In sum, in light of the evidence in mitigation and given the legal precedent, we will impose the sanction of public censure … However, in so doing, we urge the respondent to practice in close association, or consult regularly with, a senior attorney.”
The mitigating factors observed in this particular case were the inexperience of the lawyer, his remorse, and the fact that he acted to protect his client and not for any personal gain.
In the instant case, Leonov was working as a general counsel for a Brooklyn utility auditing company. A salesman, who had resigned from the company, started sending emails to employees of the company demanding money, which he held the company owed him.
Company executives feared physical harm and reported it to Leonov, who was general counsel, and Leonov, in his turn reported the matter to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.
The DA’s office advised Leonov to call the police to report threats. However, the inexperienced general counsel did not want the salesman arrested, so he issued an email with false content, thinking to stop the behavior of the salesman.
In his email, Leonov wrote to the salesman, “You are on notice that I have filed an injunction with the District Attorney’s office against you,” and warned the salesman that if he tried to communicate further with company employees on the same issues, it would result in contempt.
It led to his disciplinary hearing, and before the referee, Leonov admitted that sending the email was an act of “stupidity,” and “lack of knowledge.” Leonov pleaded for a private censure, but was publicly censured instead.
So, the moral of the story here, is not to go overboard in trying to protect your client, or others, when you do not have the required experience – because even though you might not have any personal gain involved, you can still end up in being censured.
Leonov was previously censured for assaulting a cab driver who refused to take him to Brooklyn on Halloween.
