Raleigh attorney censured (March 2022)

Attorney: Ralph J. DiLeone

Location: Raleigh

Bar membership: Member since 1999

Disciplinary action: Censured on March 1

Background: DiLeone hired a North Carolina resident, who was licensed to practice law only in California, to work as an attorney at his law firm. He held the attorney out on his website as an attorney able to practice law in North Carolina without any disclaimer that she wasn’t licensed in the state, and charged and collected fees for work done by the attorney on legal matters in North Carolina. DiLeone also sponsored the attorney for pro hac vice admission to local courts, even though she was ineligible as a North Carolina resident. DiLeone said he didn’t know that the attorney was ineligible when the motions were filed, but even after he learned that the motions had been granted erroneously, he failed to notify the courts about the error.

Previous discipline: None

All information contained in the Bar Discipline Roundup is compiled and edited by Lawyers Weekly editor-in-chief David Donovan. He can be reached at [email protected].