Attorney Douglas Smoot of Charleston, WV; ethical troll

The state of West Virginia presented Douglas A. Smoot with a law license in 1981 after he graduated from the University of West Virginia School of Law.

The Lawyer Disciplinary Board found Doug guilty of engaging in the following misconduct, all of which are based on his actions in a federal black lung case.

• Failed to display any remorse regarding his misconduct
• Refused to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct
• Client who was deceived by Doug's conduct was quite vulnerable
• The victim of Doug’s misconduct was a seventy-four-year-old man with a limited education who was acting pro se at the time of Doug's misconduct
• Doug’s alteration of a report to a tribunal is an affront to justice that simply cannot be tolerated
• Doug acted with a dishonest and selfish motive by advancing the interests of his client above the integrity and fairness of the litigation process
• Engaged in conduct that is unlawful, dishonest, deceitful, misrepresentative
• Engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice
• Misconduct caused injuries to the legal system and to the opposing
• Doug engaged in deceptive conduct constituting an attempt to commit fraud upon an administrative tribunal

As a direct consequence of his misconduct, the apologists for Attorney Misfits sitting on the West Virginia Supreme Court punished Doug by gifting him with a complimentary 1-year suspension of his law license.  

As we speak (ca. May 2023), Doug practices his so-called brand of law at 827 Spring Road in Charleston, West Virginia.

BEWARE: Doug does is not covered by legal malpractice insurance