On October 31, 2023, the Supreme Court of New Jersey censured attorney David E. Gray for violating several rules of professional conduct.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of David E. Gray” with case number 088490.
According to the filing, the court found that Gray violated the following New Jersey Rules of Professional Conduct: RPC 1.4(b) (failing to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter), RPC 1.15(a) (failing to safeguard client funds and engaging in negligent misappropriation of client funds), RPC 1.15(b)(failing to promptly notify a client of receipt of funds in which the client has an interest and failing to promptly deliver funds to a client), RPC1.15(d) (failing to comply with the record-keeping requirements of Rule1:21-(6)), RPC 1.17(c)(3) (engaging in the improper purchase of a law office), and RPC 5.3(a) and (b) (failing to supervise a nonlawyer assistant).
On July 28, 2023, the Disciplinary Review Board recommended suspending attorney David E. Gray for 3 months for ethics violations related to his acquisition of a debt collection law practice and failure to properly supervise a nonlawyer employee. In September 2016, Gray purchased a portion of the debt collection practice of attorney Gary Lewis. Gray hired some of Lewis’s former employees to run the debt collection practice but failed to properly oversee them. One employee, Todd Geiger, was improperly made a signatory on Gray’s trust account and misappropriated over $100,000 of a client’s judgment funds without Gray’s knowledge. The Disciplinary Review Board found that Gray violated the aforementioned rules.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey, however, determined that a censure would be the appropriate discipline for Gray’s misconduct. Additionally, the court has specified certain conditions that Gray must fulfill before and after reinstatement. This includes the completion of a pre-approved recordkeeping course and providing monthly reconciliations of his attorney accounts on a quarterly basis for a two-year period to the Office of Attorney Ethics.
The order also mandates that the entire record of this matter will become a permanent part of Gray’s file as an attorney at law in the state of New Jersey. Furthermore, Gray is required to reimburse the Disciplinary Oversight Committee for administrative costs and expenses related to the prosecution of this case.
According to Avoo, Mr. Gray is a business attorney in Whippany, New Jersey. He attended Seton Hall School of Law. He acquired his law license in New Jersey in 2003.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
