In re Reich

Opinion

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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS

No. 16-BG-464

IN RE STEPHANIE G. REICH, RESPONDENT.

A Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (Bar Registration No. 473039)

On Report and Recommendation of the Board on Professional Responsibility Ad Hoc Hearing Committee Approving Petition for Negotiated Discipline (BDN 241-15)

(Decided: September 10, 2020)

Before THOMPSON and DEAHL, Associate Judges, and NEBEKER, Senior Judge

PER CURIAM: This decision is non-precedential. Please refer to D.C. Bar R.

XI, § 12.1(d) regarding the appropriate citation of this opinion.

In this disciplinary matter, the Ad Hoc Hearing Committee (the Committee)

recommends approval of a petition for negotiated attorney discipline. See D.C. Bar R. XI, § 12.1(c). The petition is based on the finding that Respondent’s conviction for making a false statement to obtain unemployment compensation did not constitute moral turpitude per se. The Committee found that “circumstances in

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which Respondent found herself [a “volunteer” for the Gray campaign who was paid a stipend] may not have been employment at all” within the meaning of the unemployment compensation statute. 1

Respondent acknowledged that she committed a misdemeanor crime in violation of D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(b) and 8.4(c). The proposed discipline is a three-year suspension without a fitness requirement nunc pro tunc to July 5, 2016, the date she filed her D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14(g) affidavit.

Having reviewed the Committee’s recommendation in accordance with our procedures in uncontested disciplinary cases, see D.C. Bar R. XI, § 12.1(d), we agree this case is appropriate for negotiated discipline and the proposed disposition is not unduly lenient or inconsistent with dispositions imposed for comparable professional misconduct. Accordingly, it is

ORDERED that Respondent Stephanie G. Reich is hereby suspended from the practice of law for three years, nunc pro tunc to July 5, 2016, the date on which Respondent filed a compliant D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14(g) affidavit with this court.

1 Report and Recommendation of the Ad Hoc Hearing Committee at 15.

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So ordered.