A family law attorney seeking to apply as an insurance agent has been disbarred by a New York appeals court for multiple professional misconduct charges.
The New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division – Third Judicial Department struck off Daniel J. Gallagher after the court considered seven professional misconduct charges against him.
The charges laid are related to his alleged failure to file a divorce judgment on behalf of his client, submission of false information in regard to his insurance agent license application and renewal forms, and failure to cooperate with an attorney grievance committee’s investigation.
New York Law Journal reported that a five-justice panel last week granted the Third Judicial Department attorney grievance committee’s motion for default judgment against Gallagher for his failure to answer the misconduct charges, which were first lodged against him in October 2019.
The panel decided that due to Gallagher’s failure to appear during the proceeding, “there are no mitigating factors for [its] consideration” as it decides what punishment to hand down to the attorney.
“In contrast, we have considered the numerous aggravating factors presented by [the grievance committee], including, among other things, respondent’s [Gallagher’s] past discipline imposed by this court and current extant suspension from the practice of law,” the panel said in a written statement.
Gallagher, whose license had been suspended since 2013, was admitted to the state bar in 1994. According to the panel, the attorney was previously suspended from practicing law after “allegations of client neglect, conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, failing to pay an arbitration award to a client and other conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.”
