Case Title: Attorney Grievance v. Hessel

Citation: 

Docket Number: 13ag/22

State: maryland

Court: Maryland Supreme Court

Date: 2022-11-03T00:00:00Z

Document:
ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION  
* 
IN THE  
OF MARYLAND  
 
 
 
 
 
* 
COURT OF APPEALS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
v. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
OF MARYLAND 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
Misc. Docket AG No. 13  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
September Term, 2022 
MARK LEONARD HESSEL 
 
 
 
* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(No. C-15-CV-22-003238,  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* 
Circuit Court for 
Montgomery County) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ORDER 
 
Upon consideration of the Joint Petition for Disbarment by Consent filed on 
November 1, 2022, by the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland, Petitioner, and 
Mark Leonard Hessel, Respondent, in which the parties jointly petition the Court to disbar 
Respondent, 
 
WHEREAS, in the Joint Petition, the parties advise that Respondent, Mark L. Hessel, 
was admitted to the Bar of Maryland on May 25, 1982 and has maintained an office for the 
practice of law in Montgomery County, Maryland, 
 
WHEREAS, on August 10, 2022, Petitioner filed a Petition for Disciplinary or 
Remedial Action in this Court against Respondent.  By Order dated August 26, 2022, this 
Court transmitted the Petition to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County for a hearing and 
designated Judge Kathleen M. Dumais as the hearing judge.  A hearing date has not yet been 
scheduled, 
 
 
 
 
 
WHEREAS, Respondent consents to disbarment with the knowledge that if a hearing 
were held on the instant petition, sufficient evidence would be produced, the facts of which 
are set forth in the Joint Petition, to establish that he engaged in conduct that violated 
Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct 19-301.1 (competence); 19-301.2 (scope 
of representation); 19-301.3 (diligence); 19-301.4 (communication); 19-301.5 (fees); 19-
301.16(d) (declining or terminating representation); 19-303.2 (expediting litigation); 19-
303.4(c) (fairness to opposing party and counsel); 19-304.4(a) (respect for rights of third 
persons); and 19-308.4(a), (c) and (d) (misconduct), 
 
WHEREAS, the description of the conduct set forth in the Joint Petition establishes 
such violations and establishes that Respondent has engaged in misconduct for which 
disbarment may be warranted, 
 
WHEREAS, in the Joint Petition, the parties advise that Respondent is aware that he 
is also currently the subject of an investigation by Bar Counsel arising from an unrelated 
complaint and a reciprocal matter in the District of Columbia, 
 
WHEREAS, the parties agree that the appropriate disposition is disbarment and 
Respondent consents to disbarment, 
 
Now, therefore, it is this 3rd day of November, 2022, 
 
 
ORDERED, by the Court of Appeals of Maryland, that, effective December 31, 
2022, Respondent, Mark Leonard Hessel, is disbarred from the practice of law in the State of 
 
 
 
Maryland for violations of Rules 19-301.1, 19-301.2, 19-301.3, 19-301.4, 19-301.5, 19-
301.16(d), 19-303.2, 19-303.4(c), 19-304.4(a), and 19-308.4(a), (c) and (d); and it is further 
 
 
ORDERED, that the Clerk of this Court shall remove the name of Mark Leonard 
Hessel from the register of attorneys in this Court, and certify that fact to the Trustees of the 
Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland and all Clerks of all judicial tribunals in this 
State in accordance with Maryland Rule 19-761(b). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   /s/ Shirley M. Watts 
                   Senior Judge 
 
 
 
Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal 
Materials Act 
(§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic. 
 
 
 
 
 
Suzanne C. Johnson, Clerk 
2022-11-03 09:28-04:00