On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania suspended attorney Christopher Nicholas Urbano after his conviction of criminal contempt.

The case is entitled “Office of the Disciplinary Counsel v. Christopher Nicholas Urbano,” with case no. 30 DB 2021.

The charges cited Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(b), 8.4(d), Pa. R.D.E 203(b)(1) which states:

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to commit a that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Conviction of a crime shall also be grounds for discipline.

The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.

The case is rooted in the charges filed by the Disciplinary Counsel against attorney Christopher Nicholas Urbano for his violations of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct and Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement arising out of his conviction of criminal contempt in violation of 42 Pa.C.S. S 4132 and his separate representation of a client.

The filing states:

“Respondent’s failure to appear for a scheduled pre-trial conference disrupted the judicial process of Judge Costanzo’s courtroom, caused Respondent’s client’s trial to be postponed and rescheduled, and necessitated the Court to convene a contempt hearing, which Judge Costanzo described as unnecessary and a waste of the Court’s resources.”

The filing continues:

“The Court pointed to Respondent’s failure to (a) properly advise Mr. Perez-Scott that the testimony of the victim alone, if believed by the fact finder, would be sufficient to find him guilty; (b) take necessary steps to preserve physical evidence of the victim, namely the shorts she wore; (c) call witnesses to establish and demonstrate to the Court as the fact finder that Mr. Perez-Scott did not speak or clearly understand English, and was not proficient in the language even though his defense at trial was that a language barrier caused miscommunication between Mr. Perez-Scott and the victim; and, (d) provide competent professional advice to Mr. Perez-Scott regarding whether he should testify, his failure to properly prepare him to testify and his misguided advice that the Court would not believe him because he would be using an interpreter.”

From the evidence adduced at the hearing, the court agreed with the committee that sufficient support exists to establish by clear and satisfactory evidence that the respondent’s conviction for criminal contempt had indeed violated the Pennsylvania Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement 203(b)(1) and Rules of Professional Conduct. Based on this fact, the court decided to suspend the respondent.

The Disposition states:

“AND NOW, this 18th day of April 2023, upon consideration of the Report and Recommendations of the Disciplinary Board, Christopher Nicholas Urbano is suspended from the Bar of this Commonwealth for a period of six months. Respondent shall comply with the provisions of Pa.R.D.E. 217 and pay costs to the Disciplinary Board. See Pa.R.D.E. 208(g).”

Mr. Urbano practices in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is licensed in Pennsylvania. His info can be found on avvo.com.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.