On Thursday, November 17,  2022, the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division Third Judicial Department ruled on the petition for reinstatement from suspension filed by Rumson Attorney Marc David Policastro.

The case titled ‘In the Matter of Attorneys in Violation of  Judiciary Law § 468-a, was brought by the Attorney Grievance Commission for the Third Judicial Department, case no. PM-190-22.

The following are as summarized from the filing:

Respondent was suspended from practice by a September 2009 order of the Court for conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice as a result of her non-compliance with his attorney registration obligations beginning in 2008.

Policastro applied for his reinstatement after curing his registration delinquency in May 2021. The Attorney Grievance Committee for the Third Judicial Department (AGC) opposed Policastro’s application for deficiencies.

To address AGC’s concerns, Policastro submitted a supplemental affidavit, together with additional supporting documentation.

The filing states: 

“Although respondent submits proof of his recent successful passage of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (hereinafter MPRE). . .  he admits his failure to file the instant application within one year of having taken the exam, as required, and accordingly requests a waiver of the MPRE requirement. To qualify for such a waiver, an applicant must demonstrate, as is pertinent here, “that additional MPRE testing would be unnecessary under the circumstances.”

The filing continues:

“In view of respondent’s recent MPRE passage, his otherwise unblemished disciplinary history, his good standing in his home jurisdiction and his consistent participation in legal ethics training, we find that a waiver is appropriate in this instance and therefore grant his request.”

The Court, in granting Respondent’s application, stated among others:

“Inasmuch as he has clearly and convincingly demonstrated his compliance with the order of suspension and the Rules of this Court, that he possesses the requisite character and fitness for the practice of law, and that it would be in the public’s interest to reinstate him to the practice of law in New York.”

Accordingly, the Court ordered that the respondent is reinstated as an attorney and counselor-at-law in the State of New York, effective immediately.

As of today, Mr. Marc David Policastro is listed in Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla Attorneys at Law, as a shareholder. He graduated from Seton Hall University School of Law. He has been licensed in New York, license no. 2535003, as well as in  New Jersey.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.