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Bending the Truth Can Break a Legal Careerby Douglas S. Malan It's a difficult economy and you're a job applicant looking for any edge. Better give a long second thought to padding that resume or fudging the truth on an application, especially if you're a lawyer. Consider the case of Mark Villeneuve, a Connecticut-licensed lawyer who lives in Augusta, Maine. His professional standing is under attack because Connecticut grievance officials believe he lied multiple times when he e-mailed his resume and application for a staff attorney position to the state Workers' Compensation Commission. Villeneuve did far more than embellish a job title or try to cover up a period of unemployment. He claimed to have graduated cum laude from Western New England College School of Law in 2004 and to have served as the law review's assistant note editor. Yes, he was a WNEC grad. But he was neither cum laude nor a law review editor. Villeneuve also stated that he was employed at the Law Offices of Jean Smith in Meriden, Conn., a firm that Villeneuve said handled all types of workers' comp matters. Turns out that no such firm exists. State officials say the inconsistencies on the job application were revealed after Villeneuve had interviewed in person for the Workers' Compensation Commission position. But Villeneuve is claiming that he never applied for the job and never appeared for that interview in February 2008; he says someone must have stolen his identity and pretended to be him. The Statewide Grievance Committee isn't buying it. They want the Superior Court to dole out the appropriate punishment. Villeneuve, who has responded to the grievance complaint in writing only, has moved to dismiss the case. There's little wiggle room in the state's ethics rules for lawyers who lie, and there's no distinction between padding a resume and falsifying a job application, said Mark Dubois, the state's chief disciplinary counsel. "Rule 8.4 [of the Practice Book rules] says lawyers cannot lie," he said flatly. |
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