Fairmont Lawyer Disbarred for Misrepresentation
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Charleston

The West Virginia Supreme Court has disbarred a Marion County lawyer for misrepresenting himself to prison officials.

According to the state’s High Court, G. Patrick Stanton, Jr. entered the Prunytown Correctional Facility in Taylor County in October 2005 to see a female inmate, Rose Auvil. Stanton told prison officials that he was Ms. Auvil’s attorney. However, Stanton was working as the Director of the West Virginia Office of Consumer Advocacy and thus could not practice law privately.

It was later learned by the Investigative Panel of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board that Stanton had represented Auvil in the past, but he had also engaged in a sexual relationship with her that dated back to 1986. The court documents say that Stanton admitted that he had lied to a corrections official over the phone to schedule an attorney-client visit with the woman.

He also traveled from Fairmont to Grafton in order to once again engage in sexual acts with Auvil. On the day of the actual visit, the two were caught in such an act by a prison guard leading to the eventual ethics proceedings.

The Disciplinary Board voted to suspend Stanton’s law license for a year. However, the Supreme Court believed his actions to be so disturbing that it required the permanent forfeiture of his license to practice law in West Virginia.

The Law of Success