In a 5-2 majority ruling, the Maryland Supreme Court recently approved the admission of labor and employment law associate Samuel Edward Howie to the state bar. Howie, who is currently affiliated with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith’s Newark, New Jersey office, has previously been admitted to the New Jersey and New York state bars.
Howie’s character had previously been flagged for academic dishonesty during his tenure at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. He was reported to have cheated on a bar prep examination during his final semester. These issues of misconduct were taken into consideration by the Maryland Supreme Court before giving their final decision.
The process to be admitted to the Maryland State Bar began for Howie in July 2021. The split decision, detailed in a state high court majority conclusion, now allows him to practice law in a third state.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Michele D. Hotten disclosed how Howie indulged in honor code violations at law school, including plagiarism and failing to report another student’s honor code violation. Notably, according to Justice Hotten, Howie did not disclose these violations to two of the four employers he worked for. However, the record does not reveal which employers were kept in the dark about his past misconduct.
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