Sedona AZ (October 30, 2018) – Phoenix attorney Edward Maldonado has been suspended for eighteen months for engaging in inappropriate conduct toward a fellow board member and law student.
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Arizona Supreme Court accepted an agreement for discipline by consent between Maldonado and the State Bar of Arizona that resulted in the eighteen-month suspension.
Maldonado made unwelcome statements and actions of a sexual nature to a fellow board member during a board event in Tucson. She confronted his misconduct and demanded an apology after he followed her into the women’s bathroom. Despite his apology, he would later spew obscenities at her while she was dancing.
In a separate matter, Maldonado took a second-year law student to his office after an evening event open to lawyers and law students and removed all her clothing. He asserted that he was assisting the intoxicated student by removing her clothes after she vomited while she was passed out. He then texted another law student to pick her up and bring her clothes. The student who picked her up said there were no signs or smells of vomit on her clothes or in the office. Maldonado was married at the time, and he and the law student had never been romantically involved.
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge decided that while a third count was dismissed to achieve settlement, there’s a clear pattern of conduct that affirms Maldonado acted knowingly.
Edward Maldonado’s eighteen-month suspension will be effective 45 days from the date of the order issued on October 25, 2018. He was also ordered to pay $1,218.24 for the costs and expenses incurred by the State Bar of Arizona.
Consumers may report attorney misconduct by calling the State Bar of Arizona Attorney/Consumer Assistance Program (A/CAP) hotline at 1-602-340-7280.
The State Bar of Arizona is a non-profit organization that operates under the supervision of the Arizona Supreme Court. The Bar includes approximately 24,500 attorneys and provides education and development programs for the legal profession and the public. Since 1933 the Bar and its members have been committed to serving the public by making sure the voices of all people in Arizona are heard in our justice system.
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