Ethics
Former BigLaw lawyer will get 1-year suspension for buying and selling on data discovered as conflicts counsel
A former Cozen O’Connor lawyer has agreed to a one-year suspension of his legislation license in Pennsylvania for utilizing data that he discovered as a conflicts lawyer to purchase inventory prematurely of a merger.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Courtroom imposed the suspension Monday for lawyer William E. Gericke, report Law.com and Law360.
The Legal Profession Blog famous the suspension and linked to the Jan. 13 joint petition in assist of self-discipline.
Gericke, now 61, earned a revenue of $10,000 by buying and selling within the inventory of agency shopper Liberty Property Belief, in line with the joint petition for self-discipline. Gericke purchased the inventory in October 2019 after a tax companion requested Gericke to run a conflicts test on one other firm, Prologis, earlier than a attainable merger with Liberty Property Belief.
Gericke left Cozen O’Connor in August 2021. The legislation agency beforehand advised Regulation.com that Gericke’s alleged conduct violated the legislation, in addition to the agency’s insurance policies and procedures.
“After we turned conscious of Mr. Gericke’s exercise, we took immediate and acceptable motion, together with cooperating with the SEC,” the agency advised Regulation.com in a press release. “We’re glad that this matter has been resolved and that the conduct of the previous worker resulted in no hurt to our shopper.”
Gericke later acknowledged in an interview with representatives of the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee that his buy violated SEC guidelines. He paid a $20,000 fine as a part of a November 2021 settlement with the SEC.
The suspension takes impact April 19. Gericke joined Dugan, Brinkmann, Maginnis and Tempo after leaving Cozen, in line with Regulation.com, however he’s not currently listed as a lawyer on the brand new agency’s web site.
Gericke’s lawyer, Josh J.T. Byrne, didn’t instantly reply to an electronic mail request for remark.
