By Kristi Tousignant
The Daily Record Newswire
BALTIMORE — A Montgomery County lawyer has been disbarred for creating fictional clients and fake bills to avoid a pay cut.
Ronald Marc Levin was disbarred immediately by the Court of Appeals this month, the day after his hearing.
Levin told the state’s top court he was ashamed of his lack of earnings after high expectations had been set for him at his law firm.
“My embarrassment and anxiety turned to panic and horror since there was so much hope for me to come in and build that office,” Levin told the Court of Appeals. “I’ve never been in that type of situation in more than 20 years of my practice.”
Levin, who was admitted to the bar in 1992, told the Court of Appeals that he had no criminal intent because he always intended to repay the firm.
“What you’re portraying is, ‘I sent these things in. I knew I was panicked. No harm, foul because I paid the money back,’” Judge Lynne A. Battaglia said to Levin. “Is that your story here?”
Though Levin argued he should only face a public reprimand, James N. Gaither, who argued on behalf of the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, recommended immediate disbarment.
“A continuous, deliberate, systematic string of events that involved not only misrepresentation, but the creation of fictitious documents, fraudulent documents has to be prejudicial to the administration of justice,” Gaither told the court.
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