New York Attorney Claims Losing License is "A Badge of Honor"

A New York State Appeals court has decided to disbar Yonkers attorney Michael A. Deem. He entered the New York Bar Association in 1998 and has maintained a general law practice in Ossining. Throughout his career, his specialty had been civil rights and, more specifically, Second Amendment gun rights.

Since being confronted with the initial petition calling for his disbarment, Deem was afforded the opportunity to have a say on the appropriate disciplinary sanction, yet he chose not to.

History of Impropriety

This has not been Deems first run-in with disciplinary actions:

• In 2015, a federal district court judge revoked Deem’s court pass for using a cell phone to photograph an individual in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceeding. Court security discovered that his phone contained recorded parts of the proceeding rather than still photographs.
• In 2017, a federal disciplinary committee suspended him from practicing law for six months.
• In 2022, the Second Department of the Appellate Division suspended him for six months for not reporting the aforementioned 2017 suspension.
• Also in 2022, the same court convicted him of criminal contempt, a misdemeanor, and sentenced him to six months in jail.

On August 3, 2023, the Ninth Judicial District’s Grievance Committee served Deem with new charges. In total, Mr. Deem has had 11 counts of misconduct levied against him .

Along with the 11 charges, the grievance committee accused Mr. Deem of engaging in “frivolous conduct” that had no reasonable purpose other than to harass or injure another with malicious intent. Conduct that disregarded or otherwise advised a client to ignore a standing rule within a court of justice.

Defiantly Disbarred

The Grievance Committee had provided Deem with ample time to contest the charges. However, he only challenged the court’s authority over him after the grievance committee asked the court to find him in default.

I consider it a badge of honor that the judges of the New York State Court System [do] not want me in their despicable and reprehensible British Accreditation Registry.

Michael A. Deem

Deem depicted the decision as retaliation for disclosing corruption in the state courts. As of March 6, 2024, the Grievance Committee for the Ninth Judicial District proceeded with their motion to disbar Michael A. Deem. His name is stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors-at-law.