Suspended Saratoga Springs law yer punished again

Watchdog: Barry still practiced as attorney in five real estate deals

Peter Hughes Barr y was already indefinitely suspended from practicing law because the Saratoga Springs attorney failed to respond to allegations of misconduct from a state watchdog panel.

On Thursday, the reg ion’s appellate court suspended Barr y for a year after finding he represented himself as a law yer in f ive rea l estate transactions while suspended.

“Various interested parties to the transactions — at least one of whom had prior dealings with ( Barr y) in advance of his suspension — all expressed their belief that ( Barr y) was acting as an attorney, and several documents from those transactions helped substantiate that belief,” stated the decision suspending Barr y issued by the Third Department of state Supreme Court ’s Appellate Division, which covers the Capital Reg ion.

Barry issued multiple checks from his attorney escrow account and used his law firm email address in the transactions which “only ser ved to reinforce the misconception that he was an attorney in good standing,” stated the order by

Appellate Justices John Egan, Sharon Aarons, Michael Lynch and Eugene “Gus” Devine.

“Collectively, we find that (Barry’s) actions fostered the impression that he was a licensed attorney and counselor-at-law in this state in good standing, and that conduct was in contempt of the specific

directive in our November 2018 order of suspension,” the decision said.

Barry, a graduate of Nova Southeastern University College of Law in Florida who was admitted to the bar in 2004, initially faced complaints of misconduct in connection with his representation of a client in a real estate matter.