Maryland Disbarred and Sanctioned Attorneys List for Oct. 23, 2018

Upon the consideration of the Petition for Reinstatement to the Bar of Maryland filed on
December 1, 2017, by Walter Lloyd Blair, and Bar Counsel’s response thereto filed on January
30, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Petitioner was suspended from the practice of law in this State by this
Court’s Order of J ul y 21, 2010 in the case of Attorney Grievance Commission v.
Walter Lloyd Blair, Misc. Docket AG No. 83, September Term, 2009; and
WHEREAS, this Court’s July 21, 2010 Order was a temporary suspension order
entered pursuant to former Maryland Rule 16-771(c), then in effect for disciplinary or remedial
actions initiated upon an attorney’s conviction of a serious crime; and
WHEREAS, oral arguments having been held in these matters; and
WHEREAS, the Petitioner having been disbarred this date in an opinion issued by this
Court in the underlying disciplinary or remedial action docketed as Misc. Docket AG No. 83,
September Term, 2009,
NOW, THEREFORE, it is this 13th day of July 2018,
ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that the Petition for Reinstatement
be, and it is hereby, DENIED.
/s/ Clayton Greene Jr.
Senior Judge

SANCTIONS AND ACTIONS AFFECTING LICENSURE (FY 2019)

BLAIR, Walter Lloyd – Disbarred on July 13, 2018, for committing a criminal act that that reflects adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as an attorney, engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, and engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.  Respondent assisted a client in concealing money linked to a large marijuana distribution ring and was subsequently convicted of money laundering, witness tampering, making a false statement, and willful failure to file federal income tax returns.

BLYTHE, Angela M. – Disbarred by Consent on July 9, 2018, for committing a criminal act that that reflects adversely on her honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as an attorney, engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, and engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.  Respondent was convicted of conspiracy to defraud financial institutions, bank fraud and making false statements to financial institutions.

BURKE, Lynn Marie – Commission Reprimand on September 27, 2018, for failing to diligently represent her client in an immigration matter and engaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

FALUSI, Olayemi I. – Indefinite Suspension on August 16, 2018, for establishing a law firm in Maryland with Stephen Anthony Lang and representing a client in a collections matter prior to his admission to the Maryland Bar. Respondent failed to disclose to the State Board of Law Examiners that he established a firm and was being investigated for unauthorized practice of law by Bar Counsel.  Respondent also misrepresented facts regarding his unauthorized practice to Bar Counsel during its investigation.

JALLOH (GHATT), Jeneba – Disbarment on August 29, 2018, for entering into two escrow agreements with clients, which effectively allowed the clients to misuse the attorney’s trust account as part of an advanced fee scam.  Respondent subsequently misrepresented the existence of the escrow agreements creating the scam, her involvement in the scam, and her disbursements of the money.

LANG, Steven Anthony – Indefinite Suspension on August 16, 2018, for assisting Olayemi I. Falusi in the unauthorized practice of law, failing to maintain an attorney trust account, and backdating a motion during the representation of his client.  Respondent was also dishonest to Bar Counsel during its investigation.

MARSHALL, Kimberly Lisa – Indefinite Suspension on September 28, 2018, in a reciprocal action from Virginia for failing to diligently represent and adequately communicate with her client, collecting an unreasonable fee, failing to safekeep unearned fees in an attorney trust account, failing to refund unearned fees upon termination of representation, and engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.  Despite collecting an advance legal fee for representation in a property settlement agreement and divorce matter, Respondent failed to provide any legal work, failed to provide any billing statements to her client, and failed to return unearned fees to her client or subsequent counsel.

MERICLE, Linda – Commission Reprimand on July 23, 2018, for filing confessed judgment complaints with what appeared to be the actual signature of defense counsel.  The complaints were signed with the permission and authorization of defense counsel, but the complaints did not state that they were signed for defense counsel with her permission.  Respondent also filed notices with the court representing a copy of the complaint was hand-delivered to defense counsel when this was not always the case.

MILTON, Gregory J. – Commission Reprimand on July 2, 2018, for failing to timely submit a postponement which resulted in the dismissal of his client’s matter, failing to provide billing statements to his client, and failing to provide a client ledger upon Bar Counsel’s request.

POPPLETON, Aubrey Paige – Indefinite Suspension by Consent on September 28, 2018, for committing a criminal act which reflects adversely on her fitness as an attorney and engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

ROWLAND, Dale Edward – Indefinite Suspension by Consent on September 28, 2018, effective November 28, 2018, for failing to competently represent his client, failing to safekeep funds in an attorney trust account, depositing his own funds in his attorney trust account, and knowingly failing to respond to a request for information by Bar Counsel.

SALGADO, Louis F. – Indefinite Suspension by Consent on September 28, 2018, for failing to represent his client competently and diligently, failing to abide by the scope of representation, failing to adequately communicate with his client, collecting unreasonable fees, failing to safekeep unearned fees in an attorney trust account, failing to supervise non-attorney assistants, assisting another in engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, making false or misleading communications about his legal services, misusing a firm’s name or letterhead, committing a criminal act that reflects adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as an attorney, and engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, and that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

SCHWABER, Jeffrey M. – Commission Reprimand on July 2, 2018, for failing to identify a conflict of interest between two firm clients and failing to supervise several junior attorneys who, over a period of months, exacerbated the conflict of interest by taking positions for the benefit of one client and to the detriment of another.

SHEMENSKI, Steven Douglas – Disbarred by Consent on September 6, 2018, for failing to provide competent and diligent representation, failing to adequately communicate with clients, knowingly making a false statement of material fact to Bar Counsel, failing to respond to a demand for information by Bar Counsel, engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or other misrepresentation, and engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.

SPERLING, Samuel – Commission Reprimand on August 28, 2018, for representing a client in business transactions and filing suit against that same client. Respondent was disqualified by the Court based upon a conflict of interest.  Respondent also failed to respond to Bar Counsel during its investigation.

STEIN, Paul Theodore – Commission Reprimand on July 2, 2018, for disclosing confidential client communications, failing to identify a conflict of interest between two firm clients, and failing to supervise several junior attorneys who, over a period of months, exacerbated the conflict of interest by taking positions for the benefit of one client and to the detriment of another.

TELL, Melinda Gale – Indefinite Suspension by Consent on September 28, 2018, for failing to represent her client competently and diligently, failing to abide by the scope of representation, failing to adequately communicate with her client, collecting unreasonable fees, failing to safekeep unearned fees in an attorney trust account, failing to properly withdraw from representation, knowingly failing to respond to a request for information by Bar Counsel, and engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

WOOLERY, Benjamin Jeremy – Commission Reprimand on July 5, 2018, for failing to provide competent representation to a client, failing to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client, and failing to create and maintain client matter records.  Respondent, as the personal representative of an estate, routinely deposited and held certain estate funds in his law firm’s attorney escrow account instead of a separate account established in the name of the estate and used personal funds to pay interest and penalty amounts which were a direct result of his failure to file fiduciary tax returns and pay tax owed by the estate over a fifteen-year period.