CHARLESTON — The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled to suspend the law license of a Clarksburg attorney after he was named in seven separate lawyer disciplinary proceedings in 2018 and 2019.
Gregory H. Schillace had repeatedly agreed to represent clients but then abandoned his duties and responsibilities, leaving them with virtually no legal representation, the Nov. 17 opinion stated.
Justice Beth Walker authored the majority opinion. Justice Bill Wooton dissented.
Schillace
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"His misconduct cost his former clients their legal rights, property, peace of mind, and trust in the legal system; he also contributed to public distrust of the legal profession," Walker wrote.
A hearing panel subcommittee of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board found that he committed 53 ethics violations, but recommended the Supreme Court impose no active suspension of his law license, noting that Schillace's diagnosed mental impairment mitigates against harsher sanctions.
"We recognize how respondent’s mental impairment affected his client representation, and we afford it due mitigating weight," Walker wrote. "We also commend his actions to address it, and we acknowledge his continued efforts toward mental health recovery. But his impairment does not insulate him from meaningful sanctions."
The court found that it mitigates his sanction to a two-year suspension, among other sanctions.
Walker noted that Schillace's conduct was similar to a previous Grafton attorney case and, like the attorney in that case, Schillace knowingly ignored communications from his clients and the ODC.
"Like the lawyer in Hardin, respondent knowingly violated several court orders and failed to represent his clients diligently," Walker wrote. "In both cases, we imposed two-year, active suspensions after considering mitigating evidence ..."
Walker noted that while there was no magic formula for this type of decision, but given the court's previous decisions and the countervailing aggravating factors present in this case, the court found that the respondent’s mental impairment and other mitigating factors reduce his sanction to an active, two-year suspension, among other sanctions.
"The HPS’s suggestion that his mental impairment mitigated the sanction to no active suspension is not consistent with our precedent," she wrote. "And without imposing substantial consequences, we fail to deter similar attorney misconduct or restore confidence in the profession."
The Supreme Court suspended Schillace's law license for two years; referred him to the WVJLAP for evaluation, treatment recommendation, and monitoring, if deemed necessary, and reinstatement shall be conditioned on full compliance with any such recommendations
Schillace must also demonstrate that he has satisfied and paid in full pay any outstanding sanctions, penalties, or obligations owed to any tribunal in his state and all expenses related to the underlying disciplinary proceedings; and if reinstated, he shall maintain $1,000,000 in professional malpractice insurance, per claim, and in the aggregate.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number: 20-0233
