On-Demand Video
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Attorney Discipline in Pennsylvania 2022: Interview with Thomas Farrell


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  • City:
  • Start Date:2022-06-13 20:00:00
  • End Date:2024-06-13 20:00:00
  • Length:60
  • Level:Basic
  • Topics:Ethics

$79.00 ProPass

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Overview

Join Ellen C. Brotman and Amy J. Coco, two experienced ethics attorneys, as they discuss the attorney disciplinary process in Pennsylvania and review local and national developments in professional responsibility and ethics.

In this session, they interview Thomas J. Farrell, Esq., Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the PA Disciplinary Board.

  • How did Farrell’s prior experience make him uniquely qualified for the position of Chief Disciplinary Counsel?
  • Get Farrell’s take on the key elements of a strong defense.
  • After three years on the job, Farrell shares his biggest surprises about the disciplinary process.

These issues and more are examined in this one-hour interview. 

All attendees will receive the course book as a digital download. A printed copy of the course book is available, at a discount to attendees, for $40. If you wish to purchase the printed version of the course book, please call PBI Customer Service at 800-932-4637.

Recorded in June 2022.

Faculty

Thomas J. Farrell, Esq.

Thomas J. Farrell was appointed Chief Disciplinary Counsel for the Attorney Disciplinary Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2020. In this role he oversees disciplinary counsel and other staff throughout the four disciplinary districts in the Commonwealth. Before his appointment, Mr. Farrell was law clerk to the Honorable Gustave Diamond of the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Pennsylvania; a public defender in Brooklyn, NY; an Assistant United States Attorney in Pittsburgh; and or twenty-years a lawyer in a small-firm private practice active in complex civil and criminal matters, handling cases ranging from capital murder to public corruption and complex white-collar crimes, the defense of lawyers and doctors, whistle-blower cases, and appearances before Congressional committees which were investigating the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. He is the author of Criminal Defense Tools and Techniques (James Publishing 7th ed. 2017), and co-author of the Third Circuit Criminal Handbook (Matthew Bender, Rev. Ed. 2018) as well as numerous professional articles on ethics and criminal practice and procedure. He sits on the boards of non-profit organizations which aim to assist citizens returning from prison in their re-entry. He teaches Professional Responsibility as an adjunct professor at the Thomas R. Kline Duquesne University School of Law. Mr. Farrell received his B.A. degree from Yale University and his J.D. from the New York University School of Law.

Amy J. Coco, Esq.

Amy Coco is a shareholder in the Pittsburgh firm of DiBella Weinheimer. For 30 years, she has focused her practice on Professional Responsibility. She represents lawyers, judges and law students; including in civil litigation matters, ethics, professional licensure and professional responsibility representation and counseling; risk management and law practice management counseling. She is the President Elect for the Allegheny County Bar Association and served six years as a Governor on the ACBA Board. She is the current chair of the ACBA’s Nominating Committee. She is a past Chair of the ACBA’s By-Law’s Committee for many years and was a past Chair of and is currently a Duty Officer for the ACBA’s Professional Ethics Committee. She also served on Council for the Solo and Small Firm Section and chaired subcommittees for Women in the Law Division. From May 2021 to May 2024, she served as the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Woman At Large Governor and from 2022 to 2024 she was Chair of the PBA’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion Team. She is Vice Chair of the PBA’s Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee. She is the Director of Pitt Law School’s Incubator program helping lawyers set up solo practices. She is also a Washington County and Philadelphia County Bar Association member and a member of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. She frequently lectures and writes on issues related to lawyer’s professional liability, DEI and lawyer’s ethical responsibility and licensure matters. Ms. Coco is named in The Best Lawyers in America® for Professional Responsibility and Ethics. Ms. Coco has been named as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer annually since 2018 and was named a Top 50 Lawyer in Pittsburgh in 2022. She received her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, magna cum laude, in 1994 and her B.A. in Journalism from Indiana University Bloomington, IN in 1989.

Ellen C. Brotman, Esq.

Ms. Brotman is the founder of Brotman Law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her practice focuses on professional responsibility, and ethics, investigations, white collar criminal defense and appellate advocacy. Ms. Brotman has represented lawyers before the Disciplinary Board of Pennsylvania for over 20 years and has defended a wide variety of white-collar crimes involving complex trial, sentencing and appellate issues. Prior to starting Brotman Law, Ms. Brotman was a partner at Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, where she defended criminal cases in federal courts, oversaw investigations, and represented professionals in state disciplinary proceedings. From 1995 to 1998, as an assistant federal defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Ms. Brotman provided criminal defense for indigent clients in federal court at trial and appellate levels. Before coming to Philadelphia, Ms. Brotman served as a law clerk to Hon. Lee P. Gagliardi, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York. Ms. Brotman is a frequent writer and speaker on the subjects of criminal defense and professional responsibility related matters. She is also a member of the board of the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a past member of the board of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Ms. Brotman sits on the Professional Guidance Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Ethics and Professional Responsibility Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. Ms. Brotman has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America and Pennsylvania SuperLawyers for over ten years and, in 2014 was one of the Legal Intelligencer’s Women of the Year. Ms. Brotman is Chair of the Board of the People’s Emergency Center Foundation in Philadelphia, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of homeless families.


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