Bram Moszkovicz, Lawyer No More

The curtain has fallen forever on Bram Moszkowicz's career. Starting Wednesday, the well-known criminal lawyer is no longer a lawyer, as decided by the Court of Discipline in Den Bosch today. It is the final decision in the case that Germ Kemper, the Amsterdam Dean of the Bar Association, had filed against the 52-year-old Moszkowicz. Some clients had also complained about the counselor. Last year in October, the Board of Discipline ruled that Moszkowicz had to resign as a lawyer because he had shown, too many times, no respect for the rules of the legal profession. He received large amounts in cash from clients, above 15,000 euro, without first consulting with the Dean. Furthermore, he did not attend mandatory training courses, his bookkeeping was not in order and he had failed to honor agreements. Moszkowicz had appealed against that decision of the Board. He acknowledged having made mistakes but also indicated that he had learned from them and had reformed his life. He attended courses, submitted overdue accounts and no longer took cash from clients. However, the Court of Discipline ruled today that these were insufficient as the misconducts were structural and took place over a long period. Therefore, the Court upheld the decision of the Board. The complaints by five former clients were also upheld. Thus, Moszkowicz is definitely no longer a lawyer. Like the Board, the Court thinks that the attitude of Moszkowicz has seriously damaged confidence in the legal profession. Moszkowicz is disappointed about the ruling. "It is unworthy of the Court. You can think differently about things, but not like this." He calls the decision "regrettable", but no longer wants to waste any more words on the decision. Sometime in May, Moszkowicz will give a press conference on the verdict. Bram Moszkowicz was one of the best-known criminal lawyers in the Netherlands. Among his clients were 'the Hakkelaar' Johan V., the Surinam army leader Desi Bouterse, Willem Holleeder and Geert Wilders.