Legal Ethics

CPA's Stellar Law School Career Screeches to a Halt as St. John's Rescinds His Admission

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Third in his class at St. John’s University School of Law, a certified public accountant working at PricewaterhouseCoopers was looking ahead to a bright future in the law.

But David Powers’ would-be legal career came to a screeching halt after he wrote to New York’s character and fitness committee to disclose an expunged 1999 conviction for drug possession on his record. When he sought a letter of support from his law school, St. John’s not only refused but rescinded his admission, reports the New York Post.

The law school declined to comment on pending litigation. However, St. John’s apparently took the position that Powers wasn’t completely candid in his law school application. Although he disclosed his conviction, St. John’s administrators said he omitted original charges of selling drugs to an undercover New Jersey cop, the newspaper reports.

Unsuccessful in his efforts to persuade St. John’s to readmit him, the 32-year-old Powers has now filed suit against the law school in Queens Supreme Court.

He was licensed as a CPA after disclosing the conviction to accounting authorities, the Post says. He spent a year in an in-patient rehab program and completed three years of probation in the drug-possession case.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “Okla. Lawyer Gets Probation re Addiction Self-Reported to Bar Authorities After Arrest”

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