Sen. John McKinney, the Republican minority leader from Fairfield and a candidate for governor, owes $1,330 to the mandatory fund lawyers pay into to protect clients and his license has been under suspension since 2003.
“I have not engaged in the practice of law nor held myself out to be a practicing attorney since I left the private practice of law at Cummings & Lockwood over ten years ago,” McKinney said in a statement. “This is consistent with my annual ethics statements filed since that time. As such, this issue is moot. I am currently in the process of formally submitting retirement papers with the Statewide Grievance Committee to clear this administrative error.”
McKinney faces former Ambassador Tom Foley in the Aug. 12 Republican primary for a chance to take on Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy in November.
Active lawyers in Connecticut are required to pay an annual fee to the client security fund, currently $75. The fund reimburses clients for losses caused by a dishonest attorney.
To avoid paying the fee while not practicing, an attorney can file paperwork to retire, effectively putting one’s license on hold. If a retired attorney wants to begin practicing again, the retirement is revocable.
If a lawyer fails to pay the fee, the Statewide Grievance Committee administratively suspends his or her license. Although it is illegal to practice law with a suspended license, the SGC will reinstate licenses when it receives all overdue fees. The SGC also handles complaints against attorneys.
Malloy, also an attorney, has no record of discipline or suspensions, according to the SGC website.
The SGC first suspended McKinney in July 2003. The SGC also suspended McKinney in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and, last month, 2014. Starting with fees for 2006, the SGC started automatically suspending attorneys for each fee missed. Suspensions are made for missing the prior year’s fee, so the 2014 suspension is for missing payment of the 2013 fee.
Attorneys paying overdue fees must pay a reinstatement fee of $75. Including the restatement fee, McKinney owes $1,330. He didn’t pay $75 in 2002, 2003 or 2004. Between 2005 and 2012, he didn’t pay $110 eight times. He owed $75 for 2013 and another $75 for 2014, although he has not been suspended yet for missing that payment, according to a clerk for the client security fund.