On September 1, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ordered the suspension of Methuen attorney Danilo J. Gomez for offering inducement to a witness.
The case is styled ‘Bar Counsel v. Danilo J. Gomez, Esq.’ and was filed by the Bar Counsel under BBO File No. C2-18-00255047.
The charges cited Rules 1.1, 1.2(a), 1.7(a)(2), 3.4(b), 8.4(d), and 8.4(h) of the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, which states:
Rule 1.1 provides that “[a] lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client”.
Rule 1.2(a) provides that a lawyer “shall seek the lawful objectives of his or her client through reasonably available means permitted by law and these Rules.
Rule 1.7(a)(2) provides that “a lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest.” which includes “a significant risk that the representation of (the client) will be materially limited by . . . a personal interest of the lawyer.
Rule 8.4(d) prohibits lawyers from “engag(ing) in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice, and
Rule 8.4(h) prohibits lawyers from engag(ing) in any other conduct that adversely reflects in his or her fitness to practice law.
The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing:
The respondent represented Mr. Aquino in a criminal matter for charges of assault and battery against his wife, Martha Marmol. He also represented Aquino in the case filed by Marmol for the dissolution of her marriage with Aquino. Respondent engaged in misconduct when he proposed to the opposing counsel that his client would relinquish his claim on the property if Marmol did not testify against him at the criminal trial.
The hearing committee recommended a license suspension between four and six months for respondent’s conduct. The Bar Counsel sought a sanction of six months, while respondent sought dismissal or a three-month stayed suspension.
The Board of Bar Overseers, by a Memorandum dated February 14, 2022, recommended six months and one day suspension for respondent’s serious misconduct of offering a bribe to a witness to not testify.
The Memorandum of Decision states that:
“This court has recognized that, where an attorney’s misconduct presents an issue of first impression, it may be appropriate to impose a relatively lenient sentence while future similar misconduct would receive a more severe sanction.”
With the foregoing facts and discussions, the court ruled against the Respondent in relation to the above-cited Rules of Professional Conduct.
The Order of Term Suspension reads:
“It is ORDERED that:
Danilo J. Gomez is hereby suspended from the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for a period of thirty (30) days. In accordance with S.J.C. Rule 4:01,§17(3), the suspension shall be effective thirty days after the date of the entry of this Order.”
The suspension ceased on October 31, 2022.
As of today, Mr. Danilo J. Gomez practices as an Attorney at Law with the Law Offices of Danilo J. Gomez serving Methuen, Massachusetts. He graduated from Suffolk Law School in 2015. Gomez has been licensed in Massachusetts. His bio can be found on LinkedIn.
A copy of the suspension order can be found here.
