Solicitation by Paralegal

Paralegal Used in Illegal Solicitation at Hospital
A New York attorney (respondent) is sanctioned for solicitation of a patient at a medical clinic who had already specifically declined an attorney referral. The incident that led to respondent's guilty plea occurred when a staff member at the medical clinic telephoned respondent and informed her that the clinic had a patient who had sustained potentially serious injuries, but who had declined the clinic staffer's suggested referral to respondent. Respondent then instructed her paralegal to seek out and persuade that patient to retain her law firm. The purported patient was actually an undercover officer, and respondent was charged with violations of Judiciary Law sections 479 and 482, resulting in her plea of guilty to the charge under section 479. In re Ravitch 919 N.Y.S.2d 141, 142 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept.,2011)