Grievance Administrator v. Lopatin

In this disciplinary matter, the Grievance Administrator, on behalf of the Attorney Grievance Commission (ago), appeals an Attorney Discipline Board (adb) order reducing the discipline imposed on respondent by a hearing panel from a forty-five-day suspension to a reprimand. We hold that the ADB erred as a matter of law in concluding that our prior order denying the Grievance Administrator’s application for leave to appeal barred it from suspending respondent for longer than forty-five days. In light of that error, and because the adb did not have the benefit of our guidance regarding use of…