Criminal Justice
2 lawyers are disbarred for conspiring to throw Molotov cocktail at empty police car
New York lawyers Colinford Mattis (left) and Urooj Rahman in their May 2020 booking photos. Photos from the U.S. attorney’s office of the Eastern District of New York via the Associated Press.
A former law firm associate at Pryor Cashman and a public-interest lawyer have been disbarred following their guilty pleas for conspiring to toss a Molotov cocktail at an empty police car during New York protests in 2020.
The Appellate Division’s First Judicial Department of the New York State Supreme Court disbarred Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman on Tuesday in opinions here and here.
Prosecutors had alleged that Rahman tossed the Molotov cocktail at the police car, and Mattis drove the getaway minivan.
Law360 and Reuters have coverage, while the Legal Profession Blog links to the opinions.
Mattis was formerly an associate at Pryor Cashman. He became a lawyer in 2018 after graduating from the New York University School of Law in 2016.
Rahman had worked at Bronx Legal Services. She became a lawyer in 2019 after graduating from the Fordham University School of Law.
The appeals court said Mattis and Rahman had pleaded guilty to a federal offense that was essentially similar to New York felonies requiring automatic disbarment. They had acknowledged that a likely consequence of their guilty pleas was disbarment.
The disbarments are effectively retroactive to June 2.
Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 18 for Rahman and for Dec. 16 for Mattis.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “2 lawyers plead guilty in Molotov cocktail attack on cop car; prosecutors seek terrorism enhancement”
ABAJournal.com: “2 lawyers charged in Molotov cocktail attack on cop car reach plea deal”
ABAJournal.com: “2 lawyers are charged with Molotov cocktail attack on cop car; 1 is Pryor Cashman associate”
