Marc Kasowitz, President Donald Trumps personal lawyer, is facing two ethics complaints with the New York and Washington, D.C., bars over his reported advice to White House staffers.
Both complaints cite an article in The New York Times on Sunday reporting that Kasowitz advised White House staff that it was not yet necessary for the presidents aides to hire their own lawyers, amid investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert Mueller into whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Russia.
The ethics complaints contend Kasowitz, managing partner of Kasowitz Benson Torres, violated attorney ethics rules in New York and Washington by giving such advice to unrepresented individuals.
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Kasowitz, said in statement that the ethics complaints are meritless, calling them obviously politically motivated complaints based on press reports, which were based on anonymous sources.
The watchdog group behind Thursdays complaint in Washington argues that Kasowitz appears to have run afoul of two ethics rules.
First, because he is not a member of the D.C. bar, the group says, by offering aids the legal advice not to retain counsel, it appears Mr. Kasowitz engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.
The group cites further ethics rules providing that a lawyer should not give advice to unrepresented people other than the advice to secure counsel if their interests are or could be in conflict with the lawyers client.
Source: http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2...r-white-house-advice/?slreturn=20170516150830Goldfarbs letter to the New York disciplinary committee said New York ethics rules expressly treat advice on retaining personal counsel as itself constituting legal advice.
Kasowitz violated another New York ethics rule related to communications with people who are represented by counsel, Goldfarbs complaint asserts. Goldfarb contends Kasowitzs communications affected the institutional interests of the White House, represented by the White House Counsels Office.
Mr. Kasowitzs end run around the White House Counsels Office represented not only a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct, but a serious departure from past White House practice, Goldfarb wrote.