Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 11, 1994 TAG: 9402110171
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE HUDSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Lexington lawyer David Natkin said another attorney, Brett Shrader, told him Wednesday that he would be working in Read's law office until Read turns in his law license next month.
"It sounded like Shrader was literally baby-sitting his practice until then," Natkin said.
Shrader could not be reached for comment Thursday. Current Virginia State Bar's membership rolls list Shrader's office address as 17 S. Jefferson in Lexington, which is the address of Read's law office.
Natkin said a real-estate agent told him he was searching for a long-term tenant for Read's office. The agent, Joseph Vita, said he could not comment without permission from Read or his family.
Read could not be reached for comment. As of Thursday afternoon, he was still listed as a licensed lawyer with the state Bar.
Jon Kurtin, a Roanoke attorney who is representing Read in disciplinary proceedings before the bar, would not say whether Read was planning to give up his license.
However, Circuit Judge George Honts said Read called Honts' Lexington office and left a message that "I am resigning." Honts said he did not talk to Read directly, and it is unclear exactly what the message meant.
In addition, an adjuster with an insurance company in Roanoke said Read has told some clients they need to get new lawyers.
The adjuster, who asked that his name and company not be mentioned, said Read told him in a letter that the clients would need to hire other attorneys if their claims with the insurance company were not settled soon.
Another Lexington attorney, Larry Mann, said "it's pretty much common knowledge" around town that Read is closing his practice.
The state Bar has been investigating a complaint by a former Lexington woman who charged that Read made vulgar and humiliating sexual remarks and made physical advances against her 15-year-old daughter.
Theresa Shell, who now lives near Richmond, said Read patted her and her daughter on the buttocks and kissed her daughter.
Kurtin said last month that Read was confident he had not violated any of the Bar's disciplinary rules.
If Read does turn in his law license, it will be the second time he has done so in the face of allegations of sexual misconduct.
In 1986, seven former clients told a special three-judge panel that Read had fondled them or rubbed his socked feet over their legs. One said he exposed himself and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.
An eighth woman, a former court official, said he used foul language to describe the sex acts he wanted to perform on her.
At a second hearing, a psychiatrist testified that Read had a stress disorder caused by the trauma he suffered in the Vietnam War. The psychiatrist said Read also suffered from "narcissistic personality disorder," an illness in which someone holds a grandiose sense of his own importance.
During that hearing, Read offered to accept a suspension of his law license. The judges agreed.
Three years later, however, Read asked that his license be restored. His psychiatrist testified that he had recovered and was "well-equipped to return to the practice of law." State Bar officials did not oppose Read's request, and the judges returned his license.
by CNB