In re Roth

Attorney Lee Roth (defendant), who lacked a real estate broker's license, helped his paralegal buy a house below its listed price, arranging to be described as the seller's broker (entitled to half the listing broker's commission) with the understanding he'd turn his share over to the paralegal to reduce her costs; listing broker Carl Bayuk (plaintiff) initially agreed to share his commission but, after selling the house to a different buyer for more money, filed an ethics complaint against Roth. The state ethics committee cleared Roth, but the disciplinary review board found he violated Disciplinary Rule DR 1-102(A)(6), which bars unlicensed brokerage work unless minor and incidental to legal work, and recommended public reprimand.