Divorce Lawyers Directory Blog

The New York State Bar Association has recently suspended lawyer Dominic Barbara for 18 months due to a variety of sanctions and grievances filed against him. Before his suspension, Barbara had received nine letters of caution, nine admonitions, and two advisements from the Attorney Grievance Committee. This is hardly a stellar record.

The majority of complaints levied against Barbara involved a failure to return unearned retainer fees and the improper supervision of inexperienced employees. Both of these offenses are considered highly unethical, and would be grounds for suspension in most states throughout the country. It appears that Barbara's actions finally caught up with him.

The bulk of Barbara's practice involved matrimonial and divorce cases. However, he is most well-known for his work on high profile cases involving Jessica Hahn and Joey Buttafuoco.

Barbara's suspension highlights an important point that must always be kept in mind when evaluating potential lawyers – maintaining a high profile practice does not always translate to providing exceptional quality legal services. It is important to look past surface grandstanding and evaluate the substance of a potential lawyer's record. If Dominic Barbara's clients were to have done a more thorough job researching his background before retaining him, they might have decided to keep looking. Now he will have a year and a half to rethink his practice methods before being allowed to handle a case in the state of New York again. However, this latest high profile mark on his record may be the one that finally dooms his reputation once and for all.