On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility disbarred attorney Christopher Libertelli for his flagrant dishonesty.

The case is entitled “In the Matter of Christopher Libertelli,” with case no. 20-BD-050.

On February 2, 2022, it was alleged that the respondent committed misconduct during divorce and custody proceedings in Maryland, from December 2015 to March 2019, resulting in various consequences. Mr. Libertelli allegedly engaged in frequent deception such as providing false information while under oath during testimony and making false statements to the court not under oath. Additionally, he manipulated multiple drug test results to hide his ongoing drug use and altered many entries in financial records to conceal payments for drugs, although not in all instances.

The report and recommendation state:

“Disciplinary Counsel contends that Mr. Libertelli committed all of the charged violations and should be disbarred as a sanction for his misconduct. Mr. Libertelli does not currently deny that he violated any of the charged Rule violations and agrees that he should be sanctioned.1 However, he argues that he is entitled to disability mitigation under In re Kersey, 520 A.2d 321 (D.C. 1987), and that based on the Kersey and additional factors relevant to sanction he should not be disbarred. “Aside from that,” Mr. Libertelli “leave[s] the task of fashioning an appropriate sanction to the learned discretion of the Hearing Committee.”

The February 2, 2022 report and recommendation continue:

“Mr. Libertelli had a history of drug use.” DCX 6 Tr. at 11, 109. He acknowledged that he used cocaine at least as recently as July 2015 and (although he disputed the result) that he had a positive test in September 2015. Id. at 12. However, his counsel urged that Mr. Libertelli had not used opioids since April 2015 and that “everyone in this room familiar with this case, will have to concede that Mr. Libertelli’s use [of cocaine] is significantly decreased from that which it was when [the divorce proceeding] began.” Id. Mr. Libertelli admitted in the disciplinary hearing that his divorce counsel’s statement that he had not used opioids since Spring 2015 was untrue and that he did not correct the misstatement to Court, even though he knew that his counsel’s statement was incorrect.”

In another report and recommendation dated March 23, 2023, the Board on Professional Responsibility found that the appropriate sanction for the respondent’s flagrant dishonesty is disbarment.

The March 23, 2023 report and recommendation state:

“Nevertheless, the Hearing Committee stressed that much of Respondent’s dishonest conduct was “calculated” and “meticulous” and was not caused by instances of drug intoxication, but by careful planning over long periods of time. FF 266(f); see HC Rpt. at 149. Furthermore, Respondent admitted that he knew that what he was doing was wrong. FF 204-205, 266(f); see HC Rpt. at 146. The Hearing Committee also found that it was impossible, based on the record, to determine the extent to which Respondent’s impairment was due to his consumption of opioids, cocaine, other stimulants, or some combination thereof.”

In lieu of the aforementioned facts, the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility disbarred the respondent from the practice of law.

The Order states:

“In re Christopher D. Libertelli. Bar No. 451341. May 17, 2023. Libertelli was suspended on an interim basis pursuant to D.C. Bar R. XI, § 9(g), pending final action on the Board on Professional Responsibility’s March 24, 2023, recommendation of disbarment.”

Mr. Libertelli is licensed in the District of Columbia with license no. 451341.

A copy of the original filing can be found here