AUGUSTA, Maine — There is probable cause for the suspension or disbarment of prominent midcoast lawyer Philip Cohen, a Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar committee has ruled.
The grievance committee issued its recommendation Thursday, nearly a month after it held a public disciplinary hearing in Waterville.
The recommendation means the attorney for the board of overseers will file a complaint before a single justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. That justice then will decide whether Cohen’s license to practice law should be suspended or whether Cohen should be disbarred.
“Disappointing to say the least. Philip has already paid such a deep price for all that happened. But we will absolutely soldier on,” said Cohen’s attorney, Walter McKee of Augusta.
A full hearing will be held before the justice.
The 45-year-old defense lawyer from Waldoboro was sentenced in October to 30 days in jail for disorderly conduct and violating a condition of release. Cohen originally was charged with domestic violence assault against his wife last year but reached an agreement to have those charges dropped in a process known as deferred disposition. That agreement was violated, however, after police said Cohen contacted his wife.
Cohen has represented defendants in several high-profile cases including six murder cases during the past six years as well as a widely publicized Matinicus shooting case stemming from a lobstering dispute.
At the Dec. 19 hearing, attorney Alan Kelley, who represents the board of overseers, argued before the grievance committee that Cohen’s repeated violation of a court order forbidding him to contact his wife was so egregious that his case should be referred to a Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice.
Kelley also maintained that Cohen manipulated his wife into not testifying against him, which allowed the Waldoboro man to plead to lesser charges.
McKee argued at the hearing that his client had served a “de facto suspension” when he served 23 days of the 30-day sentence in jail, with seven days off for good behavior. McKee had asked the panel to simply issue a reprimand.
Cohen testified at the hearing that he had been punished more harshly because his case had drawn the attention of Gov. Paul LePage, who has made eradicating domestic violence a priority of his administration. Cohen said he expected to serve 10 days at the jail, then be released and serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement, which would have allowed him to work during the day. He said his request for home confinement was rejected by the Lincoln County sheriff.
“I was in solitary confinement just because I knew so many inmates,” Cohen, who has practiced in midcoast Maine for 20 years, testified at the December hearing.