Ethics
Former Eckert Seamans associate says he agreed to disbarment after he was misled about confidentiality
A former associate at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott has agreed to disbarment to resolve ethics allegations that he pocketed fees for legal work and sought money from clients and acquaintances under false pretenses. (Image from Shutterstock)
A former associate at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott has agreed to disbarment to resolve ethics allegations that he pocketed fees for legal work and sought money from clients and acquaintances under false pretenses.
But the former associate, Anthony Darnell Cox Jr. of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, told Law360 that he agreed to the disbarment based on the understanding that the underlying allegations would remain confidential.
“I am deeply saddened and have lost trust in the Pennsylvania disciplinary system and justice system as a whole,” Cox told Law360. “I made the decision to resign from the practice of law and not contest any of the underlying allegations because the board represented to me in writing … that if I resigned, the underlying allegations would remain confidential.”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court disbarred Cox effective Aug. 17 in a July 18 order available on the website for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s disciplinary board. Attached to the order are Cox’s resignation acknowledging the material facts of the allegations, which are also attached.
The disciplinary board alleged that Cox accepted tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees from more than a dozen clients without payment to Eckert Seamans after he joined the law firm as an associate in January 2022. He also failed to deposit fees into a lawyer trust account and failed to communicate in writing the basis or rate of the fee, according to the allegations.
Cox was also accused of falsely telling two clients that his mother had died—in one instance, to excuse a late refund and in another, to justify his failure to quickly forward the client’s money to a state board.
Cox also asked acquaintances and clients for money under false pretenses, according to the allegations. In one instance, he alleged that his mother was sick and he needed a plane ticket to visit her. In other instances, he claimed that he was on a trip and had forgotten his wallet or credit card, according to the allegations.
One person Cox allegedly contacted was a doctor he had represented. Cox asked for money for an Uber ride and for a relative who needed surgery. There was no such surgery, the disciplinary board said.
Eckert Seamans fired Cox in July 2023.
Law360 reviewed emails that Cox provided showing what he said were his communications with a disciplinary counsel in May.
Cox asked whether there is “a way to seal this or craft it in a way that minimal details are available.” The disciplinary counsel responded that “all proceedings are confidential up to a certain point.”
After the time to file a response to a petition for discipline has passed, the email said, all details would become public.
“Therefore, this resignation statement would be private at this point,” the disciplinary counsel allegedly wrote.
The email also said the fact that Cox will be disbarred on consent is public.
Neither the disciplinary counsel nor Cox immediately responded to phone messages left by the ABA Journal.
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