Probate court supervisory attorney fired for financial improprieties (CT)
A supervisory attorney in the state’s Office of the Probate Court Administrator is out of a job after a three-judge panel agreed with a recommendation to fire her for alleged financial improprieties.
Debra Cohen was initially suspended with pay last November after reports surfaced that, at the same time she was helping to supervise and train the state’s probate judges and their staffs, she was also appearing in courts as a trustee of people’s estates and had collected more than $33,000 in conservator fees. That was a clear conflict of interest, according to Probate Court Administrator Paul Knierim.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis read the judges’ decision from the bench on Monday, Oct. 6. In addition to the termination, the judges ruled that the last four-plus months of Cohen’s suspension should be unpaid. It’s unclear how much Cohen was paid during her suspension and whether she would have to pay a certain amount back to her employer.
Judges Bellis, Robert Devlin and Maria Kahn were convinced after hearing several days of testimony that Cohen disobeyed supervisors’ order not to continue representing clients in probate court and even tried keeping her bosses in the dark about that trustee work by trying to conceal fees she paid herself.
According to a Judicial Branch spokeswoman, the unpaid portion of the suspension kicked in May 29, a day after Knierim outlined Cohen’s issues in a letter to the judges. He took a rare step of specifically calling for her termination.
Several attorneys told the Law Tribune they couldn’t remember another time in the last two decades that judges were empaneled to decide a personnel matter. Usually, those are handled by supervisors or passed off to disciplinary officials if the case involves allegations of professional misconduct. Experts called Cohen’s hearing “hybrid” – a personnel matter with professional misconduct undertones.
As such, the judges heard six days of testimony in late August and mid-September before issuing a decision.
George Kelly, the attorney who represented the Office of the Probate Court Administrator at the disciplinary hearing, said he hadn’t reviewed a transcript of the decision, and would hold off on commenting. Cohen’s attorney, Marc Mercier, did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment.
Cohen’s misconduct will likely be reviewed by grievance officials. Patricia King, the state’s chief disciplinary counsel, said she was unaware whether a grievance was filed against Cohen.
According to Knierim’s letter, Cohen’s financial stake in four probate matters “constituted outside employment that impaired her independence of judgment” and colored her ability to give judges and court staff “sound, objective and independent” legal advice. Probate courts can approve trustee fees, impose fines for breaching trustee duties and exonerate trustees from personal liability.
In addition, Cohen didn’t provide her employer notice of the conflict of interest, Knierim wrote. On the contrary, she reportedly tried hiding her trustee duties from supervisors, who were alerted only after a probate court staff member found out that Cohen was acting as a trustee for the estate of John DeRosa and questioned whether a staff attorney should be doubling up as a trustee. Cohen was told by supervisors she had to resign her trustee duties immediately.
Despite that order, she continued acting as a trustee in three other matters, officials said. She also attempted to collect fees in the DeRosa matter, after being told not to do so, according to Knierim’s letter. The letter also alleges other financial misdeeds, including an alleged “deliberate attempt” to conceal how much she paid herself while acting as conservator of the estate of Sandra Brozna.
A hearing in East Hartford Probate Court found Cohen was ordered to reimburse $33,500 in conservator fees, but repaid only $10,000.
Attribution:
Probate Court Supervisory Attorney Fired for Financial Improprieties
Isaac Avilucea
October 7, 2014
The Connecticut Law Tribune
http://www.ctlawtribune.com/id=1202672642859/Probate-Court-Supervisory-Attorney-Fired-for-Financial-Improprieties#ixzz3FfKUm8NF
