Ellicott City lawyer agrees to disbarment for mishandling client funds

An Ellicott City attorney has agreed to be disbarred based on allegations that he repeatedly mishandled money that he was holding in trust for clients.

The lawyer, Jeffrey S. Goldstein, was disbarred this week by the Maryland Supreme Court following a joint petition with bar counsel.

According to the petition, the Office of Bar Counsel began investigating Goldstein in 2021 when a client complained about Goldstein’s handling of a settlement from a motor vehicle accident.

Goldstein received a $9,500 check from the other driver’s insurance company in July 2017, according to facts outlined in the petition. Before paying the client, Goldstein withdrew $4,900 and $4,600 from the account, though he should have been holding that money in trust.

A few weeks later, Goldstein deposited $4,600 into the account, which covered his client’s portion of the settlement. The client received the money in August 2017, but later learned that Goldstein did not use the settlement funds to pay several of the client’s outstanding medical bills.

One of the companies that was owed money filed a lawsuit against Goldstein’s client in 2021, according to the petition. The matter was settled when Goldstein sent the outstanding debt, $600, from his personal funds in September 2021, the petition explains.

As part of its investigation, bar counsel requested a client ledger, deposit slips, canceled checks and monthly bank statements from Goldstein. He provided bank statements but no deposit slips or canceled checks, according to the petition.

Goldstein was unable to explain discrepancies in his bank records when bar counsel asked, according to the petition, and the office latered subpoenaed account records from his bank.

The records showed that Goldstein repeatedly failed to hold client funds in trust. On multiple occasions, Goldstein withdrew funds before earning them and in one case, he used another client’s settlement funds to pay back client money he had previously withdrawn from the account.

As part of the joint petition, Goldstein agreed that his conduct violated the Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct related to safekeeping property and record keeping.

Goldstein could not be reached for comment Friday. Maryland Bar Counsel Thomas M. DeGonia declined to comment.

According to the petition, Goldstein joined the Maryland bar in 1987 and mostly worked as a solo practitioner. Bar counsel initially filed a petition for disciplinary action against Goldstein in January, and the case was set to go before a hearing judge in June.

Instead, Goldstein consented to the disbarment, which is generally the sanction when attorneys intentionally misappropriate client funds.

Goldstein and bar counsel agreed that the mitigating factors in Goldstein’s favor include “timely efforts to make restitution, absence of prior discipline, personal or emotional problems and physical or mental disability or impairment.” Goldstein’s substantial experience practicing law would have been cited as an aggravating factor, according to the petition.