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Uploaded: Thursday, January 24, 2013, 2:29 PM
San Ramon attorney faces complaint to state bar association
Pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charge of illegally receiving information
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by Glenn Wohltmann
A San Ramon family law attorney charged with illegally receiving confidential information now faces a complaint made to the State Bar of California, the organization that governs attorney conduct and can issue penalties against lawyers.
That complaint was made against Lesley Anne Regina, 36, in December, and a complaint number has been filed. The charge of receiving records is a misdemeanor. However, as an attorney and officer of the court, if convicted, she could face a sanction or other penalty from the bar association, which regulates attorneys.
Court documents say Regina received an email containing privileged information then forwarded that to an unnamed person.
"On Jan 23, the suspect, Lesley Regina, was emailed confidential/personal information regarding a person she was actively investigating in a domestic violence/child custody matter," a police summary stated. That included driver's license information, restraining order information from the National Crime Information Center run by the FBI, and local criminal history from the Alameda County database.
The information "contained specific confidential/personal identifying information that originated in a criminal history/booking system regarding the victim," court records show. The records were for the ex-husband of one of Regina's clients.
The case has not yet been decided; Regina pleaded not guilty to the charge.
A 2009 report indicates the bar could initiate a formal disciplinary procedure to determine of a conviction involves "moral turpitude," which typically covers lying, cheating and stealing.
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Posted by Thaddeus Moore, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood, on Jan 27, 2013 at 8:25 am The ABA won't do a thing. They are a useless organization when it comes to disciplining one of their own. Read the book, "Woe Unto Ye Lawyers" by Fred Rodell. The practice of law is a joke.
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Posted by Freedom Riders, a resident of the Diablo neighborhood, on Jan 29, 2013 at 4:53 am What is Glenn Wohltmann's obsession with this matter? He has no "moral turpitude" as he edits out any comments that don't fit his agenda. He has no power or talent in reality, so he lashes out from his keyboard against victims. Petition the Express to fire "Evil Glenn" because he has serious legal issues regarding the facilitation of domestic abusers, namely Brian Lancaster. Telling a one sided story isn't what being a good reporter entails. Perhaps Lancaster messed with the wrong people? Sooner or later you will have to pay for your deeds... Funny how the bully runs and hides when he is faced with strength, rejection and hatred! Bring it on!!!
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Posted by Dave, a resident of the Danville neighborhood, on Jan 29, 2013 at 12:38 pm Yo, Thaddeus -
Just so you know, the ABA has no disciplinary authority over attorneys. In California, the State Bar is the organization that has the power under state law to admit attorneys to practice and to discipline them when necessary.
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Posted by Thaddeus, a resident of the Alamo neighborhood, on Jan 29, 2013 at 10:01 pm Dave, I stand corrected; you are right. Still, the California State Bar is a useless organization. Very little is done, in my opinion, to discipline their own. It's like a little boys club. Read Fred Rodell's book--all true.
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Posted by Earl Stanley Gardnerd, a resident of another community, on Jan 30, 2013 at 7:20 am For anyone who's interested in numbers, the CA State Bar's most recent annual attorney discipline report can be found here: Web Link
From the cover letter to the Chief Justice:
"In 2011, the State Bar received 16,156 new complaints against California lawyers. The Office of Chief Trial Counsel, the State Bar’s prosecutorial arm, opened 4,967 new investigations and filed disciplinary charges or stipulations to discipline in 1,522 complaints. Formal discipline was imposed in 1,573 complaints, resulting in the disbarment or suspension of 394 lawyers."
Also according to the CA Bar Web Link, there are 179,055 lawyers actively practicing law in CA (hold the jokes, please -- we know NJ got first choice), and another 50K on Inactive status.
Now, I haven't read the book, but folks should at least know that the Bar did cast out almost 400 of its members last year, some permanently -- which ain't nuthin'.
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