On Wednesday, January 11, 2023, the Commonwealth of Massachusettes Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County accepted the Affidavit of Compliance and Assented-To Request for Order that Respondent is no longer subject to Six Month Suspension of attorney Steven Michael Dwyer.
The case is entitled “In the matter of Steven Michael Dwyer” with case no. BD-2021-078.
The charges cited Massachusettes Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2, 1.3, 3.4(c), 1.4(a), 1.15(d)(2), 1.15(b), 1.15(f)(1)(b)(c)(d)(e).
The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.
On January 5, 2022, Justice Gaziano imposed a six-month suspension, stayed for one year against the respondent for varied misconduct and recordkeeping violations.
The filing states:
“Count One alleged that, in connection with the respondent’s work as a conservator for a mentally compromised ward, he failed to pursue client goals and failed to act with diligence in connection with, among other things, an application for long-term nursing home care benefits and payment of nursing home costs; he disobeyed obligations under probate court rules or orders concerning accountings; and he charged clearly excessive fees while failing to render a bill for same.”
The filing continues:
“Count Two alleged that to refund fees to one client (“Client A”), the respondent negligently misused $600 in retainer funds of another client (“Client B”). This occurred because the respondent had failed to restore to his 1OLTA account the amount of the fee payment to himself that he intended to refund to Client A following Client A’s objections to the bill. Payments to himself for the work for Client B, however, whose retainer he had negligently misused, caused the check to Client A to be dishonored, resulting in failure to refund all unearned fees.”
The parties filed a stipulation as to the misconduct and rule violations and jointly recommended to the Board a six-month suspension, stayed for one year, on the condition that the respondent obtains mentoring for one year in accordance with a mentoring agreement attached to their stipulation. After such stipulation, the respondent filed an Affidavit of Compliance and Assented-To Request for Order that the Respondent is no longer subject to Six Month Suspension which the court granted on January 11, 2023.
As of today, Mr. Dwyer is listed on the website of the law firm Law Offices of Steven M. Dwyer as a practicing attorney. His info can be found on Linkedin. He attended the Massachusetts School of Law. Dwyer practices and is licensed in Lynn, Massachusetts.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
