Maryland Supreme Court disbars Virginia lawyer for abusing courts, financial misconduct

In 2009, Pisner distributed approximately $1.19 million to himself while his sister received $1.06 million, and in 2010, he received $136,410.93 despite a lack of supporting source documentation, while his sister received $54,894.78. Many of the unauthorized distributions were used for Pisner’s personal expenses, the high court wrote, including legal fees, credit card payments and educational costs.

Among other ethical violations, the justices found Pisner also “repeatedly misused the judicial system” by initiating a number of lawsuits with legal theories that lacked merit.

According to the high court, Pisner, in identifying himself as an attorney of his mother’s trust, filed a lawsuit against his sister in Montgomery County Circuit Court alleging the trust had “ceased to function” in accordance with its terms. Pisner also filed a separate lawsuit against his sister in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia while the trust litigation remained pending, as well as a second lawsuit against his sister in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland with “nearly identical” allegations.

“[Pisner] pursued identical claims in multiple forums without curing a plainly fatal legal defect, indicating an absence of any good faith basis for relief and no effort to seek a legitimate change in the law,” Killough wrote. “These violations were not without consequence. The Hearing Judge found that Respondent’s frivolous filings caused actual harm to others.”

Those harms, the high court wrote, included those against whom Pisner filed lawsuits incurring substantial legal expenses and experiencing increased liability insurance premiums, in addition to the expense of judicial resources in multiple jurisdictions.

Pisner disputed the sufficiency of the disciplinary petition, alleged investigatory and discovery misconduct, and contested the credibility of witnesses; the high court found he offered no evidence to support those claims. Though Pisner had no prior history of attorney discipline, the justices found disbarment is warranted.

Pisner did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and bar counsel for the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission declined to comment.

Pisner was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1989. He remains in good standing in Virginia and the District of Columbia (where his membership is inactive), and is listed as retired from the Pennsylvania Bar, according to those jurisdictions’ attorney directories.