Securities Lawyers Gone Wild – Svitlana Sangary
Business Lawyer Photoshops Her Way to a Six Month Suspension
Some wayward attorneys content themselves with writing fraudulent opinion letters, but Svitlana Sangary, a Los Angeles business lawyer, yearned for the red carpet. In an apparent attempt to convince prospective clients that she hobnobbed with the rich and powerful, she filled the “publicity” page at her website with photoshopped images of herself cozying up to a considerable number of celebrities and politicians.
Although the California State Bar Association commenced a disciplinary action early this year, she has not removed her creations from the site. Neither has she participated extensively in the proceeding. She’s refused to attend hearings, and submitted only two accounts of her strange behavior. Neither was found by the judge in charge to be on point.
In one of them, Sangary explained that she was a “prominent donor and philanthropist, supporting important social causes, who had recently received the email from President Obama, with the subject line ‘I need your help today.’” As an exhibit to her response, she attached an email from Obama—with whom she pictured herself at her website—asking that she “[c]hip in $3 or more” to the Democratic Party.
Other portions of both responses reveal a loony obsession with actress Natalie Portman.
On September 11, 2014, Donald Miles, a Judge of the State Bar Court, ruled that Sangary should be placed on probation for a period of three years, and that she should be suspended from the practice of law for the first six months of that time. He also reprimanded her for her “persistent lack on insight regarding her need to comply with her professional obligations and her ongoing failures to do so,” and characterized the photoshopped images as false and deceptive advertising.
While Sangary’s story is amusing, it makes clear the importance of choosing a qualified and stable legal representative when one is needed. Natalie Portman may have won an Oscar for her performance in Black Swan, but Sangary is unlikely to win any awards for herself or, more importantly, for her hapless clients.
For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes. Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney 101 Plaza Real South, Suite 202 North Boca Raton, Florida 33432 Telephone: (561) 416-8956 Facsimile: (561) 416-2855 www.SecuritiesLawyer101.com
