Opinion
Misc. Docket AG No. 13 September Term, 2022
11-03-2022
ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. Mark Leonard HESSEL
ORDER
Upon consideration of the Joint Petition for Disbarment by Consent filed on November 1, 2022, by the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, Petitioner, and Mark Leonard Hessel, Respondent, in which the parties jointly petition the Court to disbar Respondent,
WHEREAS , in the Joint Petition, the parties advise that Respondent, Mark L. Hessel, was admitted to the Bar of Maryland on May 25, 1982 and has maintained an office for the practice of law in Montgomery County, Maryland,
WHEREAS , on August 10, 2022, Petitioner filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action in this Court against Respondent. By Order dated August 26, 2022, this Court transmitted the Petition to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County for a hearing and designated Judge Kathleen M. Dumais as the hearing judge. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled,
WHEREAS , Respondent consents to disbarment with the knowledge that if a hearing were held on the instant petition, sufficient evidence would be produced, the facts of which are set forth in the Joint Petition, to establish that he engaged in conduct that violated Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct 19-301.1 (competence); 19-301.2 (scope of representation); 19-301.3 (diligence); 19-301.4 (communication); 19-301.5 (fees); 19-301.16(d) (declining or terminating representation); 19-303.2 (expediting litigation); 19-303.4(c) (fairness to opposing party and counsel); 19-304.4(a) (respect for rights of third persons); and 19-308.4(a), (c) and (d) (misconduct),
WHEREAS , the description of the conduct set forth in the Joint Petition establishes such violations and establishes that Respondent has engaged in misconduct for which disbarment may be warranted,
WHEREAS , in the Joint Petition, the parties advise that Respondent is aware that he is also currently the subject of an investigation by Bar Counsel arising from an unrelated complaint and a reciprocal matter in the District of Columbia,
WHEREAS , the parties agree that the appropriate disposition is disbarment and Respondent consents to disbarment,
Now, therefore, it is this 3rd day of November, 2022,
ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that, effective December 31, 2022, Respondent, Mark Leonard Hessel, is disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Maryland for violations of Rules 19-301.1, 19-301.2, 19-301.3, 19-301.4, 19-301.5, 19-301.16(d), 19-303.2, 19-303.4(c), 19-304.4(a), and 19-308.4(a), (c) and (d); and it is further
ORDERED , that the Clerk of this Court shall remove the name of Mark Leonard Hessel from the register of attorneys in this Court, and certify that fact to the Trustees of the Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland and all Clerks of all judicial tribunals in this State in accordance with Maryland Rule 19-761(b).