Los Angeles attorney Brett Deforest Maxfield was disbarred by the California Supreme Court on Thursday, July 27, 2023, for his failure to respond to the request for summary disbarment filed by the Office of Chief Trial Counsel of the State Bar (OCTC) concerning his felony conviction of assault with a firearm.

The case is entitled “In the Matter of Brett Deforest Maxfield,” case no. SBC-22-C-30344.

Maxfield entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charge of felony assault with a firearm, on March 23, 2020. Following the sentencing, Maxfield opted not to file an appeal, thus leading to the finality of the conviction.

The OCTC transmitted Maxfield’s conviction record on April 27, 2022, requesting a hearing to determine if summary disbarment is warranted under the law. Maxfield was suspended on June 13, 2022, pending the case’s resolution.

Maxfield defaulted by not responding to the hearing notice. Thereafter, the hearing judge found moral turpitude in Maxfield’s conviction and referred the matter back to the Review Department. On February 28, 2023, the OCTC filed for summary disbarment, and Maxfield did not respond.

The filing states:

“OCTC asserts that Maxfield’s misconduct involves serious breach of ethical duties where he threatened another’s life using a firearm.”

The filing continues:

“In reaction to by stander’s non-Violent attempt to stop Maxfield’s harassment of another person, Maxfield purposefully discharged firearm intending to ricochet the bullet off the ground and hit the bystander.”

The Review Department, after its review of the matter, concluded that Maxfield’s conviction involved moral turpitude and recommended Maxfield’s disbarment.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court of California, upon consideration of the foregoing facts and discussion, ruled against Maxfield and entered an order disbarring the latter from the practice of law.

Monetary sanctions in the amount of $5,000 were assessed against Maxfield, and the costs were awarded to the State Bar.

Mr. Maxfield attended the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. He had been licensed to practice in California in 2000, license no. 208161. Maxfield’s info can be found on the State Bar of California page.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.