Friends, I am writing tonight about the absolute lack of civility, - TopicsExpress

Friends, I am writing tonight about the absolute lack of civility, honor, and integrity of some members of the legal profession. As many of you know, I am currently fighting a tough, protracted legal battle on behalf of two different clients against their former lawyer, Joseph Tacopina. These cases involve allegations about Tacopina’s actions to benefit himself at the expense of his clients. In one case, the principle allegation is that as a criminal defense lawyer, he decided to cooperate with the Government and testify against his own client. However, for years, Tacopina has been able to operate with impunity because anyone who threatens to expose him is intimidated and silenced with baseless defamation lawsuits. My clients and I refuse to be intimidated. Because of my refusal to capitulate, Tacopina and his lawyer, Judd Burstein, have decided to attack me personally. Burstein also has a history of being disciplined and sanctioned for improper conduct. They filed a ridiculous lawsuit against me, accusing me of defamation because I put truthful, but damaging information about Tacopina into court papers, which was then published in the NY Daily News. Moreover, they put in several completely irrelevant and false claims which were designed only to hurt my reputation. After the media declined to run a story on their ridiculous allegations, a blog was created, designed to “expose” my “fraudulent” past. Of course, the blog is run through proxies to conceal the identity of the blogger and Burstein claims he didn’t write it. Here is the truth, which many of you already know. I was born as Tim Payne, but legally changed my name about ten years ago to my mother’s maiden name. While I may not advertise this, I’ve never denied this or tried to hide it. Tacopina and Burstein have tried to portray this as some type of fraudulent scheme to hide my criminal history. The truth is, I do have a criminal record. In 2005, I got a speeding ticket in Virginia Beach for driving 83 mph. Under Virginia law, driving over 80 mph is a misdemeanor. I pled guilty and paid the fine. I’ve even told many of my clients about this when they ask me how much a misdemeanor conviction will ruin their lives. This conviction hasn’t stopped me from getting my law license, or having my secret security clearance renewed by the Navy, even though it was disclosed to both. Tomorrow morning, the attached article is running on Page Six because Burstein forwarded one of his crazy rants to an unknown number of people. I am not ashamed of this and I am certainly not backing down from Tacopina and Burstein’s tactics. I will continue to represent my clients to the best of my abilities, no matter what reprehensible or pathetic tactics the other side attempts to employ. I will maintain honor in the legal profession, even if they won’t.