LOS ANGELES — The State Bar Court of California recently disbarred Mary Catherine Reid, an Irvine attorney.
The March 12 order was in response to misconduct charges against the attorney, including failing to comply with the minimum continuing legal education (MCLE) hours requirement of her membership in the California State Bar.
As a member of the state bar, Reid was required to take 25 MCLE hours between Feb. 1, 2011 and Jan. 31, 2014 to keep her license in good standing. Reid allegedly falsely informed the state bar that she had taken the hours within the necessary time frame, according to court documents.
The state bar began investigating the legitimacy of her claim, and sent her a Notice of Disciplinary Charges (NDC) to the address she had on file. The NDC said that failure to respond would result in disbarment. It was later discovered that the address on the attorney’s record had not been updated. She was additionally charged with failing to update her address and failing to cooperate with a state bar investigation.
On March 29, 2016, the state bar filed a motion to enter a default response on behalf of Reid. The attorney had 90 days to request a reversal but failed to do so. As a result, the state bar filed a petition for disbarment on July 29, 2016.
Reid will be required to notify any clients and opposing counsel of the disbarment order within 90 days and provide proof of compliance to the state bar. She will also be unable to accept any new clients.
Reid is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law and was admitted to the California State Bar in 1991. She had no prior record of discipline.