Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Lehman

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCAD-18-0000597 25-OCT-2018 08:27 AM SCAD-18-0000597 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I OFFICE OF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL, Petitioner, vs. JOSEPH C. LEHMAN, Respondent. ORIGINAL PROCEEDING (ODC 18-0082) ORDER OF DISBARMENT (By: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna, Pollack, and Wilson, JJ.) Upon consideration of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel’s July 27, 2018 petition for issuance of a reciprocal discipline notice to Respondent Joseph C. Lehman, pursuant to Rule 2.15(b) of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawai#i (RSCH), the memorandum, affidavit, and exhibits appended thereto, the August 21, 2018 Notice of Reciprocal Discipline issued by this court, and Respondent Lehman’s October 16, 2018 submission to this court in response, we note that, on July 21, 2016, the Supreme Court of Indiana disbarred Respondent Lehman for practicing law while suspended. Such conduct, if committed in this jurisdiction, would result in disbarment or a substantial additional period of suspension. See ODC v. Au, SCAD-13-911 (January 21, 2014); ODC v. Morikawa, Case No. 18999 (July 19, 2010). Finally, we find no support in the record for any of the exceptions set forth in RSCH Rule 2.15(c) that would warrant imposition of any discipline aside from disbarment in this jurisdiction. Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Respondent Joseph C. Lehman is disbarred, pursuant to RSCH Rules 2.3(a)(1) and 2.15(c), effective upon entry of this order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent Lehman shall, in accordance with RSCH Rule 2.16(d), file with this court, within 10 days of the entry date of this order, an affidavit showing compliance with RSCH Rule 2.16(d). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent Lehman shall bear the costs of these reciprocal proceedings, pursuant to RSCH Rule 2.3(c), upon the timely submission of a verified bill of costs by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that Respondent Lehman shall not resume the practice of law in this jurisdiction until re-admitted by order of this court, as set forth in RSCH Rules 2.17(a) and 2.17(b)(1). Any application for reinstatement shall include proof of readmission to, and good standing with, the Indiana State Bar. DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, October 25, 2018. /s/ Mark E. Recktenwald /s/ Paula A. Nakayama /s/ Sabrina S. McKenna /s/ Richard W. Pollack /s/ Michael D. Wilson 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.