Sleazy lawyer, 72, suspended for tawdry act in his office with ‘vulnerable’ client facing murder trial: verdict

A Brooklyn attorney was given a five-year suspension for having oral sex in his office with a client charged with murder, according to a court ruling issued Wednesday.

Philip Smallman, 72, was given a harsh sentence after a New York Appellate Division found he was involved in this tawdry act with his ‘vulnerable’ client, who was a victim of sex trafficking in childhood and as an adult and had the murder case hanging over her head had hanging. in 2020.

The client, identified only by the initials CL, first met Smallman in 2017 when she pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and was sent to Rikers Island ahead of trial.

But the attorney successfully got her released from jail, pointing to the COVID-19 pandemic and that she was a state-certified human trafficking survivor.

After her release, he discovered that the woman was not living with her mother, which was a condition of her release, and contacted her, according to court documents related to the disciplinary proceedings.

During a September 2020 message exchange, the client sent Smallman photos of herself partially clothed, which led to the attorney asking for more photos, according to court papers. When CL agreed, Smallman told her he was “physically aroused,” according to the court ruling.

The two met on September 21, 2020 in his Brooklyn office for approximately 15 minutes, where “CL performed fellatio on the (Smallman)” near the end of the meeting.

“CL approached him and got close to him, and extended her hand toward the suspect’s crotch,” court papers describe. “The respondent testified that he ‘let the situation unfold.’”

Smallman testified that the interactions with his client were “consensual” and “he expressed remorse for this misconduct and stated that the conduct was aberrational,” the court documents state.

The disciplinary procedure was first started in July 2021 by a complaints committee and subsequently referred by the court to a special referee. The two misconduct charges against Smallman were filed in July 2023 following hearings.

The Appellate Division of the Second Judicial Department subsequently upheld the charges in its decision Wednesday handing down the sentence.

It’s unclear what resolution was reached in the murder case, but Smallman only stopped representing her after he was hit with the complaint, according to Wednesday’s court documents.

Smallman tried to avoid disbarment by noting that he no longer represents female clients, attends weekly therapy sessions and Alcoholics Anonymous, is nearing retirement and helps family members with health problems.

But the five-year ban was handed down by the panel of judges who agreed that Smallman had a position of power over CL, noting that she was a victim of sex trafficking in the past and relied on him during a murder trial.

Smallman referred questions to his attorney. A legal representative for Smallman also did not return a phone call and email.

His suspension is expected to take effect on December 13 and he cannot re-apply to practice law until June 13, 2029.