Edward O. Lear

Edward O. Lear specializes in professional licensing defense and believes that good people make mistakes and his task is to prove that his clients have insight into their wrongdoing, are authentically remorseful and have rehabilitated in a manner that will not imperil the public in the future. If his clients are not culpable, he goes to trial to dismiss all charges.

Lear has successfully advocated for the reinstatement of three of his clients recently, which he considers a significant achievement as these are difficult cases and he has lost his share. Each of these clients was deserving and they are successfully practicing now, he said.

“I have tried over 300 cases in every level tribunal you can imagine. I know how to object to evidence that should not be admitted,” Lear said.

Lear also mentioned significant challenges he had to overcome, including the fact that in reinstatement and moral character matters, virtually all evidence is relevant and admissible. The court is allowed to peer into the souls of his clients, and the challenge in trial terms is that “blocking” is not an option. His clients are accountable for the wrongdoings that led to disbarment, and getting clients to trust this approach when so much is on the line is critical to winning.

During his 18-month tenure as the chair of the State Bar Board of Trustees’ Effectiveness Committee for the Ad Hoc Commission on Discipline, Lear said he was pleased to note a trend toward educating and training attorneys who have made mistakes.

“In the past, the practice by prosecutors (and I was one) was to punish wayward attorneys. Often, the punishment was not commensurate with the wrongdoing and, almost always, did not take into consideration the impact the discipline would have on the attorney’s practice,” he said. “The trend that I discern is that, especially for minor violations like a bounced trust account check for $1,000, the Bar may be inclined to require education and training in lieu of a suspension (called for by the Standards). This makes sense to me and I support such a trend.”