Lawyer accused of stealing from his Washington law firm wasn't licensed in state, prosecutors say
A lawyer charged with stealing from his law firm in Washington never followed through on a promise to obtain a law license in the state, prosecutors say.
Philip Kong, who has a New York law license, is accused of pocketing $17,000 from a client without turning the money over to his Bellevue law firm, SeattlePI.com reports. He is currently an “entrepreneur in residence” at a University of Washington program that connects researchers with business leaders.
Kong had quit the law firm, Desh International & Business Law, after working there less than a year, Bellevue Detective Shelby Shearer said in court papers cited by Seattle.PI.com. Kong asked for a $10,000 advance his first day on the job and quit months later when he read his resignation aloud during an all-staff meeting, Kong’s former supervisor told Shearer. Kong was supposed to receive about 40 percent of his billings at Desh, the article says.
Shearer says Kong admitted he pocketed the $17,000, claiming that part of the money was for his work for the client and part was for an advance. Kong decided not to pay back the advance, Shearer said, because Kong thought Desh had defamed him by calling the client to ask about the money. Kong filed a defamation suit against Desh after his arrest.
Kong was arrested while working at a second Washington law firm. He was charged with first-degree theft earlier this month, according to SeattlePI.com.
His former supervisor at Desh said he was hired with the understanding that he would obtain a law license in Washington. The firm paid to have the New York license verified for Washington licensing, and licensed lawyers checked Kong’s work, the supervisor told police.
Kong lists a degree from Harvard Law School in his New York bar registration, and he is listed as a lawyer with inactive status in Massachusetts. An online bio with the University of Washington says Kong began his career as an associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell and was founding director of the Pediatric Product Development Initiative at Children’s Hospital Boston.
