As most professionals know, compliance with the regulations governing any practice area can be onerous. Sometimes, even the most competent and thorough professional may find themselves the subject of a disciplinary complaint or even a malpractice suit, either of which can have devastating implications. When facing potential disciplinary, licensing or liability issues, it is important to have a law firm with experience representing licensed professionals.

At Tesser, Ryan & Rochman, our attorneys have over thirty years’ experience advising professionals, including attorneys, doctors, nurses, dentists, CPAs, and countless other licensed professionals in the regulations governing their practice. We have represented such professionals before Federal, State and local administrative agencies, disciplinary bodies, investigatory boards, employee disciplinary tribunals and have defended licensed professionals in court in both disciplinary actions and malpractice suits.

The breadth of our experience representing professionals has given us a unique prospective into the complexity of such proceedings and how to best advocate for our clients. By way of example, our attorneys have represented lawyers in disciplinary proceedings before most—if not all—of the disciplinary bodies in New York State. This has included defending judges and professionals before the Appellate Divisions, independent referees, investigators and disciplinary committees. It has also included defending attorneys charged with malpractice or contempt, and appealing contempt or malpractice findings. The breadth and diversity of our experience allows us unique prospective into each tribunal’s demands and expectations.

We are proud that our attorneys are leaders in the field of professional ethics. Partner Lewis Tesser—the former President of the New York County Lawyers Association and Chair of the General Practice Section of the New York State Bar Association—was the founder and Director of the NYCLA Ethics Institute and is the Editor-in-Chief of “The New York Rules of Professional Conduct Annotated” (Oxford University Press, 2010). In addition to multiple publications and speaking engagements concerning legal ethics and other professional regulations, Mr. Tesser also served as a Chair of the NYCLA Professional Disciplinary Committee, Ethics Task Force on reforming the NY Rules of Professional Conduct, and has presided over the study and reporting of disciplinary rules and opinions concerning countless ethics matters. Mr. Tesser has also served as an expert witness in malpractice suits across the country.

For further reading on our administrative practice, please see some of our related publications:

• “’Illegal’ Conduct Under Rule 1.2: When does Advice to a Client Violate an Attorney’s Ethical Obligations?” The New York Legal Ethics Reporter (2015)

• “The New York Rules of Professional Conduct, Rules and Commentary,” Lewis Tesser (Editor-in-Chief), Oxford University Press (2010)

• “The New N.Y. Rules of Professional Conduct,” One On One, NYSBA (2010)

• “Avoiding Disciplinary Complaints,” Law USA (2010)

• “When a Client Wants to Give Something of Value to her Attorney,” New York Law Bloomberg Law Reports (2009)

• “Who is the ‘Lawyer’ Governed by New York’s Disciplinary Rules,” New York Law Bloomberg Law Reports (2009)

• “Warning on Settling Licensing Complaints” New York Law Journal (1990)

• “The License You Save may be Your Own” American Druggist (1987)

• “How to Protect Your License,” NYS Pharmacist (1987)

• “Introduction: A Quick Overview of the Disciplinary Process,” NYSBA (1991)

• “Professional Discipline—the Hidden Agenda,” NYC Pharmaceutical Society (1991)