In re Sullivan

• Court: Supreme Court of Kansas
• Decided: September 22, 2025
• Docket: 118723
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

No. 118,723

In the Matter of JOHN BERNARD SULLIVAN, Petitioner.

ORDER OF REINSTATEMENT

On June 29, 2018, the court indefinitely suspended John Bernard Sullivan's Kansas law license under Supreme Court Rule 225(a)(2) (2025 Kan. S. Ct. R. at 274) (formerly Rule 203). The court ordered that if Sullivan seeks reinstatement, he must undergo a reinstatement hearing under Supreme Court Rule 232(e) (2025 Kan. S. Ct. R. at 287) (formerly Rule 219). In addition to the conditions for reinstatement in Supreme Court Rule 232(b), the court also ordered that Sullivan must establish before a reinstatement hearing panel by clear and convincing evidence that he is then fit to practice law, has participated in mental health treatment as directed by treatment professionals, has returned all unearned fees, has reimbursed the Client Protection Fund for any claims paid to his clients on his behalf, has been discharged from criminal probation in all jurisdictions, and has obtained a level of rehabilitation such that recurrence of the misconduct is unlikely. In re Sullivan, 308 Kan. 456, 473-75, 420 P.3d 1001 (2018).

On April 19, 2024, Sullivan filed a petition for reinstatement of his law license under Rule 232(b). The court found that sufficient time had passed to justify reconsidering the suspension and remanded the matter for further investigation by the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator (ODA) and a reinstatement hearing.

On April 22, 2025, a hearing panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys held the reinstatement hearing. In its Reinstatement Final Hearing Report, the hearing panel concluded that Sullivan satisfied the court's reinstatement conditions

1 outlined above and that the factors in Rule 232(e)(4) weigh in favor of reinstatement. Accordingly, the panel recommended that the court reinstate Sullivan's law license.

The court adopts the hearing panel's findings, grants Sullivan's petition for reinstatement, and reinstates Sullivan's Kansas law license.

The court orders Sullivan to satisfy all administrative requirements for reinstatement, including the payment of all attorney registration fees to the Office of Judicial Administration (OJA). The court also orders Sullivan to complete the continuing legal education requirements outlined in Supreme Court Rule 812(c) (2025 Kan. S. Ct. R. at 601). The court directs that once OJA receives proof of Sullivan's completion of these conditions, OJA must add Sullivan's name to the roster of attorneys actively engaged in the practice of law in Kansas.

Finally, the court assesses the costs of this proceeding to Sullivan and directs the Reporter of Decisions to publish this order in the Kansas Reports.

Dated this 22nd day of September 2025.