Now that New Jersey allows disbarred attorneys to apply for reinstatement, two people have made it past the first hurdle on the way to getting back in the court’s good graces.
Those two earned the only passing scores out of nine disbarred lawyers who sat for the February bar exam, according to a court spokesman.
Layne S. Gordon, who was a bankruptcy lawyer in a Marlton firm before he was disbarred in 2011, and Nicole Tierney, a Monmouth County attorney who was disbarred in 2007, hope to be reinstated later in the year if they successfully complete a list of requirements.
The Supreme Court upended 45 years of precedent when it opened the door to reinstatement of disbarred attorneys in October 2024. The court said lawyers have have been disbarred for at least five years could petition for reinstatement if they successfully demonstrate competence, integrity and character.
Besides passing the bar exam and the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, they must complete certain continuing legal education courses, provide notice to individuals whose complaints led to the disbarment and repay all aggrieved individuals.
Neither Gordon nor Tierney envisions a career as a full-time attorney if they are reinstated to the practice of law.
Tierney, who has a practice as a mental health counselor, doesn’t want a traditional law practice but would like the chance to represent causes she believes in as a clinician, or possibly start a clinic to expunge criminal records for low income people. As a lawyer, she might be able to pick up referrals for her counseling practice, Tierney said.
“Most importantly is to give others hope. I’m tired of being called a disbarred attorney,” she said. “It’s been an albatross to know that after three years of law school, I graduated summa cum laude, I donated my time at the pro bono clinic, I won the mock trial clinic. I did all these things. And, you know, I lost my law license. It’s very emotional,” Tierney said.
Gordon, the former bankruptcy lawyer, runs a business called Travel Plaza Media, in Somerdale, which sells advertising on digital screens in highway rest areas. He says he misses the feeling that he was helping clients from his days practicing law. Gordon says he’d like to do some legal work for his company and for a nonprofit group where he volunteers.
“There’s a lot of reasons, but the most prevailing reason is just kind of getting my license back and getting a second chance at, you know, being a good lawyer,” he said. Being disbarred “is devastating, and it’s humbling. For me, you realize that the opportunity to practice law is a privilege,” Gordon said. “You get older, you get wiser, and you realize mistakes you made, and rarely do you get a second chance to fix mistakes.”
Gordon was disbarred after he was convicted of second degree theft by deception. He said the charge stemmed from a financial dispute he had with his law partners.
Tierney, whose last name was Devaney at the time she was disbarred, had been charged with knowing misappropriation of clients’ trust funds in an amount exceeding $10,000. The matter was uncovered as a result of the Office of Attorney Ethics’ random audit program.