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The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has upheld a one-year suspension for attorney Donald F. Brown, a solo practitioner based in Brewer, Maine. The suspension was imposed after Brown requested his assistant to complete his continuing legal education (CLE) classes, violating ethical guidelines and professional standards.
Brown’s case revolved around his appeal of the October 2022 order issued by Justice Thomas R. McKeon of the Maine Superior Court. McKeon’s order concluded that Brown had breached both the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct and the Maine Bar Rules.
The violation came to light in late February 2020 when Brown realized he was required to complete 12 hours of CLE. To fulfill this requirement, he initially registered for four live seminars that mandated participants to confirm their attendance when prompted. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Brown was unable to attend these seminars and, instead, enlisted his assistant to participate in the online classes on his behalf.
Key evidence in the case emerged from text messages exchanged between Brown and his assistant. These messages strongly indicated that Brown had instructed his assistant to take the classes rather than simply downloading the content for later viewing. McKeon emphasized that this action constituted “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.”
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Brown contested the sufficiency of the evidence supporting McKeon’s findings and argued against the appropriateness of the imposed sanctions. Although the Maine Supreme Judicial Court acknowledged the timeliness of Brown’s appeal, it ultimately affirmed McKeon’s judgment.
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The court’s opinion on August 24 stated, “We will uphold the findings and inferences of the single justice ‘unless they are clearly erroneous.’ A finding is clearly erroneous when no competent record evidence supports it.” The court also emphasized that there was no error in the factual findings of Count 1, as they were well-supported by the available evidence.
Furthermore, McKeon reprimanded Brown for a second ethical violation. Brown had represented a client referred to as T.F. in a divorce case following their involvement in a sexual relationship. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court endorsed McKeon’s determination of a second violation and found no errors in this decision either.
As the court articulated, “The facts show that there was a significant risk that Brown could not give independent legal counsel to T.F. because the outcome of the divorce case would have a direct impact on Brown’s own home and personal life.”
This case underscores the importance of maintaining ethical standards and adhering to professional conduct rules within the legal community. Brown’s suspension serves as a reminder that any attempt to compromise the integrity of legal education or engage in actions that could cast doubt on an attorney’s ability to provide impartial counsel can result in severe consequences.
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