Colorado attorneys suspended, censured
A Colorado attorney who got drunk at work and sexually harassed a subordinate was among several lawyers publicly disciplined by the state in October and November.
Attorney Phillip Amos, who previously worked for Franklin D. Azar and Associates, received a six-month suspension of his law license — stayed upon the successful completion of two years of probation — for the incident on Oct. 9, 2020, according to a stipulation filed with the Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, which handles professional discipline for attorneys in Colorado.
Amos drank heavily throughout the day and in his Aurora office, according to the stipulation. Visibly intoxicated, he called a subordinate into his office and began to make comments about her body and how she was “hot.” He used crude and offensive language, the stipulation says.
The subordinate reported Amos to the firm’s human resources department. He was fired that evening.
Amos told disciplinary investigators he did not remember much of what he said or did that afternoon. He said he had been sober since shortly after that day, and that he’d sought out treatment from mental health professionals. He did not return a request for comment.
In a separate case, an attorney received a nine-month stayed suspension for disclosing confidential information. Attorney Kerry Rohweder began a romantic relationship with a married woman he represented (he also represented her husband), and later, during the couple’s contentious divorce and custody dispute, disclosed
confidential information he’d learned while working as their attorney, according to the stipulation to discipline.
Rohweder believed he’d learned the information while acting as a friend to the couple, not as their attorney, according to the stipulation.
“However, he acknowledges he was still attorney of record in both of their cases at the time, even though there were no active issues in their cases,” the stipulation says.
Rohweder’s suspension will be stayed if he successfully completes two years of probation. He did not return a request for comment.
In a third case, attorney Robert Wiegand was publicly censured for failing to resolve conflicts of interest with a client and poorly communicating with that client.
“The discipline was because at one stage over a year, I failed ostensibly to communicate with my client about a potential conflict of interest which never arose,” Wiegand said Monday. “And any attorney who has worked in estate planning who read the whole thing would be concerned that (the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel) would think that was a violation. It just would have cost too much to go to trial.”
The state in November also filed a complaint against Evergreen attorney Jennifer Emmi, also known as Jennifer Edwards. Emmi in August was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a murder-for-hire scheme. That disciplinary case is ongoing.
Other attorneys were disciplined in October and November for poor communication with clients, inept bookkeeping and for professional misconduct in other states.