Attorney Grievance v. Hessel

ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION * IN THE
OF MARYLAND
* COURT OF APPEALS
v. * OF MARYLAND
* Misc. Docket AG No. 13
September Term, 2022
MARK LEONARD HESSEL *
(No. C-15-CV-22-003238,
* Circuit Court for
Montgomery County)
ORDER
Upon consideration of the Joint Petition for Disbarment by Consent filed on
November 1, 2022, by the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, Petitioner, and
Mark Leonard Hessel, Respondent, in which the parties jointly petition the Court to disbar
Respondent,
WHEREAS, in the Joint Petition, the parties advise that Respondent, Mark L. Hessel,
was admitted to the Bar of Maryland on May 25, 1982 and has maintained an office for the
practice of law in Montgomery County, Maryland,
WHEREAS, on August 10, 2022, Petitioner filed a Petition for Disciplinary or
Remedial Action in this Court against Respondent. By Order dated August 26, 2022, this
Court transmitted the Petition to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County for a hearing and
designated Judge Kathleen M. Dumais as the hearing judge. A hearing date has not yet been
scheduled,
WHEREAS, Respondent consents to disbarment with the knowledge that if a hearing
were held on the instant petition, sufficient evidence would be produced, the facts of which
are set forth in the Joint Petition, to establish that he engaged in conduct that violated
Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct 19-301.1 (competence); 19-301.2 (scope
of representation); 19-301.3 (diligence); 19-301.4 (communication); 19-301.5 (fees); 19-
301.16(d) (declining or terminating representation); 19-303.2 (expediting litigation); 19-
303.4(c) (fairness to opposing party and counsel); 19-304.4(a) (respect for rights of third
persons); and 19-308.4(a), (c) and (d) (misconduct),
WHEREAS, the description of the conduct set forth in the Joint Petition establishes
such violations and establishes that Respondent has engaged in misconduct for which
disbarment may be warranted,
WHEREAS, in the Joint Petition, the parties advise that Respondent is aware that he
is also currently the subject of an investigation by Bar Counsel arising from an unrelated
complaint and a reciprocal matter in the District of Columbia,
WHEREAS, the parties agree that the appropriate disposition is disbarment and
Respondent consents to disbarment,
Now, therefore, it is this 3rd day of November, 2022,
ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that, effective December 31,
2022, Respondent, Mark Leonard Hessel, is disbarred from the practice of law in the State of
Maryland for violations of Rules 19-301.1, 19-301.2, 19-301.3, 19-301.4, 19-301.5, 19-
301.16(d), 19-303.2, 19-303.4(c), 19-304.4(a), and 19-308.4(a), (c) and (d); and it is further
ORDERED, that the Clerk of this Court shall remove the name of Mark Leonard
Hessel from the register of attorneys in this Court, and certify that fact to the Trustees of the
Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland and all Clerks of all judicial tribunals in this
State in accordance with Maryland Rule 19-761(b).
Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal
Materials Act
(§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic.
2022-11-03 09:28-04:00
/s/ Shirley M. Watts
Senior Judge
Suzanne C. Johnson, Clerk