On Thursday, September 19, 2024, the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, First Judicial Department issued an order disbarring attorney Allen A. Gessen who had been convicted of conspiring to commit murder-for-hire.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Aleksey Gessen,” with case no. 2024-03991.
Gessen had previously been suspended in 2013 for failing to comply with attorney registration requirements but was reinstated on July 29, 2021.
However, on May 2023 Gessen was convicted in federal court of the felony of conspiring to hire a hitman to murder the mother of his children in exchange for payment. He was sentenced to a term of 120 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release.
In response to this felony conviction, the Attorney Grievance Committee filed a motion to have Gessen automatically disbarred pursuant to New York state law. The murder-for-hire conspiracy charge was found to be essentially similar to the state felony of conspiracy to commit murder.
In its order, the court agreed that Gessen’s conviction required disbarment. His name was stricken from the roll of attorneys, effective retroactively to the date of his felony conviction in May 2023. Gessen is now prohibited from practicing law or holding himself out as an attorney in New York state.
According to avvo.com, Mr. Gessen attended the University of Connecticut School of Law. He acquired his law license in New York in 2003.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
