Legal Ethics

Conn. Lawyer Apologizes for Posing as Parking Lot Attendant

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Facing potential discipline for allegedly violating attorney ethics rules, a Connecticut lawyer has apologized to a hearing panel for posing as a parking lot attendant to make an anonymous complaint about her boss.

Maureen Duggan worked as a staff counsel for the State Ethics Commission when she wrote a 2004 letter purportedly authored by a parking lot attendant complaining about then-state ethics chief Alan Plofsky, who was fired as a result of the missive and subsequently sued the state over his termination. She said the much-publicized situation has been humiliating to her, and her lawyer said her judgment was impaired when she sent the letter because of pressure at work from Plofsky, reports the Hartford Courant.

“The committee, a sub-unit of the Statewide Grievance Committee for lawyers, has 60 days from Thursday’s hearing to approve or reject a settlement under which Duggan would accept a reprimand and take nine hours of ethics classes,” the newspaper writes.

She now works for a different state agency and must retain her law license to keep her $105,000-a-year job.

Earlier coverage from ABAJournal.com:

Former Conn. Ethics Counsel Faces Ethics Complaint Over Fake Letter

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