Disgraced former U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins has been suspended from practicing law in the Bay State.
Rollins’ law license was suspended on Feb. 20, for non-payment of registration fees, according to documents from the Supreme Judicial Court of Suffolk County, where the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers filed a motion for suspension.
The motion for Rollins’ suspension, among a number of other attorneys, was entered with the court on Jan. 16, and decided on Feb. 20, SJC documents show.
“Upon consideration thereof, it is decided that each attorney whose name and date of admission to the bar are listed in the amended motion is hereby suspended from the practice of law in this commonwealth,” Associate Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote in the decision.
Wendlandt further states that the suspension became effective 14 days after the entry of the court order.
It’s unclear when Rollins let her bar license lapse or whether she intends to return to the legal profession following her decision to resign her post as the state’s top federal prosecutor last May — ahead of the release of two scathing federal reports that warned she could face disciplinary action if she did not promptly quit.
Rollins, who worked as Suffolk district attorney before leaving to join the Biden administration as the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney, was found by the Department of Justice to have attempted to influence the outcome of the Suffolk DA race in favor of former City Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who lost the primary to Kevin Hayden.
The violation was “among other” instances of significant misconduct flagged by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz in his scathing report to Congress.
Rollins did not return a phone call seeking comment on Tuesday. Her new job with Roxbury Community College, where she is being paid $96,000 to work as a part-time special projects administrator, was made public a day prior. The role is centered around the school’s new Project to Support Returning Citizens.
While Rollins absolved herself on the federal level with her resignation last May, it’s unclear whether she faces any disciplinary action from the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, where a phone call seeking comment was not returned.
Rollins’ status is listed as “administrative suspension for non-registration” on the Board of Bar Overseers website, and the word “none” is listed under a section called “public discipline.”
She is no longer listed as the U.S. Attorney, and is registered under a PO Box address in Boston, according to Stephen Cronin, second assistant clerk for the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County.
Cronin said Rollins has not contacted the court about reinstating her law license. To do so, she must pay a $300 fee, he said, noting that the fee is not a one-time payment and keeps accumulating for each year of suspended status.
He did not have any further insight into the status of Rollins’ law license, saying the only reason it is suspended is for non-payment. Any disciplinary action, including potential disbarment, would be handled by the Board of Bar Overseers, Cronin said, which typically keeps pending matters private.