Paul Levine

October 4, 2014

PAUL SAMUEL LEVINE [#102787], 60, of Venice, was suspended from the practice of law for 60 days and ordered to take the MPRE and comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court if he remains suspended for 90 days or more. He was also placed on two years’ probation and faces a two-year suspension if he does not comply with the terms of his disciplinary probation. The order took effect Oct. 4, 2014. In 2011, a woman hired Levine to draft an agreement between her and a partner for the production of a film in Thailand. At the time, Levine already had a legal relationship with the second party. When a dispute arose, the woman hired a new attorney and pursued arbitration against her old partner. Despite the conflict, Levine continued to represent the partner until the arbitrator ordered both sides to brief the issue of whether Levine could continue representing the partner. In addition to failing to withdraw from the matter, Levine stipulated that he failed to provide written disclosures to the two clients when a potential conflict existed and did not inform them of reasonably foreseeable adverse consequences, including potential risks in the representation. In mitigation, Levine entered into a pretrial stipulation with the State Bar. He had one prior record of discipline, a 2000 private reproval for failing to refund unearned fees for nine months in two client matters, and failing to communicate with a client, promptly return client files or complete work.