The Disciplinary Board has published its Annual Report for 2023.
Some highlights from the report:
In 2023, the Board adjudicated nineteen matters: nine discipline cases and ten reinstatement matters. The Supreme Court issued orders in thirteen adjudicated matters, adopting the Board’s recommendation in all of them.
The Supreme Court adopted three amendments to rules, including comprehensive amendments to the rules relating to attorney registration and assessment, administrative suspension, and administrative status changes.
In 2023, the Board published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin three Notices of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment and three sets of amendments to the Disciplinary Board Rules and Procedures.
The Board’s Communications Committee adopted multiple enhancements to the Board’s website. Among other things, such enhancements include:
- a new “Lawyer Well-Being” webpage;
- a new “Conservatorships” webpage; and
- a more direct route of access for Hearing Committee Members to relevant review and hearing materials.
The Finance and Budget Committee reported that the Board had an operating income surplus in 2022-2023. This was the first surplus the Board achieved since 2016-2017. The annual fee for active attorneys for the 2023-2024 registration year is $275 which is shared as follows: $195 to the Disciplinary Board, $50 to the Pennsylvania Lawyers Fund for Client Security, and $30 to the IOLTA Board. The Disciplinary Board carries outstanding liabilities in the form of unpaid taxed expenses and administrative fees in the amount of $1,716,859.
The Board reported that 144 individuals served as Hearing Committee Members in 2023. Their accomplishments include:
- eighty-one complaint dispositions reviewed;
- twenty-seven prehearing conferences held;
- eighteen disciplinary hearings held;
- eight reinstatement hearings held; and
- twenty hearing committee reports filed.
All prehearing conferences and oral arguments before a Hearing Committee Member or Panel were conducted virtually via Webex. In April 2023, the Board transitioned to in-person hearings for all participants in disciplinary and reinstatement hearings.
Statistics on disciplinary matters included:
- thirty-two Petitions for Discipline filed;
- twenty-seven Joint Petitions for Discipline on Consent filed, twenty-one resulting in discipline imposed;
- three Petitions for Emergency Temporary Suspension and two Contempt petitions filed, all granted;
- five Petitions for Reinstatement from Discipline filed with one granted;
- six Certifications for Reinstatement from Suspension of One Year or Less filed with five granted;
- sixty-seven Petitions for Reinstatement from Inactive Status, Retired Status, or Administrative Suspension of More Than Three Years filed with eighty-two granted and one denied.
Note: These numbers do not necessarily add up because sometimes matters filed in earlier years are resolved or actions filed in 2023 are not decided by the end of the year.
Disciplinary actions included:
- twenty-four disbarments;
- thirty-eight suspensions;
- sixteen temporary suspensions;
- three disciplinary transfers to inactive status;
- two probation modifications;
- twelve public reprimands;
- twelve private reprimands;
- thirty-five informal admonitions; and
- 328 administrative suspensions for failure to pay registration fees.
Twenty attorneys applied for waiver of the registration fee due to financial hardship, and eighteen applications were granted.
The Board provided information on the number of attorneys registered in Pennsylvania.
- In total, 74,129 individuals are admitted to practice in Pennsylvania.
- Exactly 47,546 of these are active and located in Pennsylvania; 16,809 are active out of state; 1,847 are inactive in Pennsylvania; and 8,271 are inactive out of state.
- Of those who specified, 60.5% of these are male, and 39.5% female. A small fraction did not specify.
- Of those whose age was known, 2.8% are in their twenties; 19.2% in their thirties; 23% in their forties; 22.9% in their fifties; 20.6% in their sixties; 9.9% in their seventies; and 1.6% are eighty or older.
- Of those who specified, 80.6% of are White or Caucasian, 4.7% are Black or African American, 2.7% are Asian,1.9% are Hispanic or Latino, and 0.4%. The remainder of registrants did not specify race. Note that attorneys are provided the option to identify more than one race and/or ethnicity.