PORT ANGELES — The Washington State Bar Association disciplinary board on Tuesday dismissed allegations against a prominent Port Angeles criminal defense attorney that could have led to her disbarment.
Instead, the disciplinary board admonished Karen L. Unger for “failure to maintain personal integrity,” records show.
“Admonition is generally appropriate when a lawyer engages in any of the conduct that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s fitness to practice law,” a bar association document states.
Unger on Wednesday declined to comment on bar association disciplinary board hearing officer Scott M. Ellerby’s recommendation, referring the Peninsula Daily News to her Tacoma attorney, Michael E. Schwartz.
Attempts Wednesday to contact Schwartz for comment were unsuccessful.
Unger can appeal the hearing officer’s recommendation within 15 days.
Judy Berrett, the bar association’s director of member and community relations in Olympia, said an admonition is “technically a disciplinary action and not a sanction.
“We generally consider it less severe than any disciplinary sanction,” she said.