“Dr.” Susan Friery was once heralded as a leading plaintiff’s attorney — a combination of a juris doctor and medical doctor. Touting a medical degree from Columbia University, Friery was given a partnership at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, which appears not to have actually checked her degree. Her Massachusetts law license has now been suspended for two years. Her medical license has not been suspended because she never had one. She never graduated from medical school.
When she made partner, Kreindler & Kreindler proclaimed:
Dr. Friery is one of only an estimated 2,500 medical doctor/attorneys in the nation, of which less than 100 are representing the rights of victims and their families at plaintiff law firms. Over the last 17 years Dr. Friery has brought her combined legal and medical expertise and skills to bear on hundreds of death and injury cases handled by Kreindler, the nation’s preeminent aviation law firm.
The opinion notes that Friery repeatedly used her claim of a medical license in a variety of professional contexts:
During her tenure at the firm, the respondent made or countenanced false representations as to her credentials, including but not limited to the following particulars:
a) The respondent’s name appeared as “M.D.” or “Dr.” on the firm’s letterhead, business cards, notices of appearance, legal memorandum and other documents filed in numerous courts;
b) On divers times, the respondent was professionally addressed, introduced as, and introduced herself, both orally and in writing, to clients, colleagues, stenographers, firm employees, opposing counsel, medical providers and others as, “Dr. Friery” or as a medical doctor or as a physician;
c) The respondent held herself out to bar associations, bar association committees, and other professional groups as a doctor or physician; and
d) The respondent presented at and attended CLE trial lawyer association seminars and meetings in which she falsely represented that she had graduated from medical school and was a medical doctor.
That claims gave her heightened credibility in her practice and her public work. She was even later selected as Massachusetts’ most beautiful lawyer, which included this description (and a picture that shows that she is as flexible as her résumé):
Susan, a medical consultant and senior associate for Kreindler & Kreindler, handles a variety of mass disaster, personal injury, and medical malpractice litigation. She has worked on hundreds of 9/11 World Trade Center cases, as well as on the settlement for the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist plan bombing.
Susan loves yoga and volunteers at charities such as Habitat for Humanity.
Friery did take courses in pathology at SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine and worked as a morgue technician, but never graduated from the program. Yet, she claimed to have finished in the top 1 percent of her class at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. She started work as a paralegal at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP, which paid 75% of her tuition to go to New York Law School. She was then hired as an associate and later a partner. It would be interesting to see if she claimed the medical degree with the law school.
What is fascinating is that it is a crime to practice medicine without a license. However, this is not a form of practicing medicine so there appears no criminal charge. Yet, there could be a claim of fraud in holding oneself out to clients as a doctor — a claim that could be viewed as implied as justification for the higher partner rates. Yet, the Massachusetts panel helped her a great deal legally with the following finding:
There is no indication that the respondent’s misrepresentations had any adverse effect on the quality of the respondent’s work on behalf of the firm and its clients, or that such misrepresentations caused any harm to the firm or its clients. Many of the misrepresentations made or repeated by colleagues or staff as to respondent’s credentials were made without the respondent’s direct participation, although she was generally aware that they were being made. In addition, many of the misrepresentations were made in a context in which they were not material to any specific pending decision or action by a client, adversary or tribunal.
This is truly sad case for everyone involved.
Oops. guess gotta go figure it out more. ((*_*))
Thanks Gene. 80 .
Carol,
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http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Smilies
Wisely Skeptical: Dog lucky not God lucky.
Individuals who dismiss the licensing by medical state boards of a doctor as unecessary completely misses the point of what a physician’s education is for . The doctors I knew and worked for had to complete hundreds of hours of continued ed. study to keep their specialty status . Even at the age of 58 my father started his 5 year studying for recertification of medical specialty, family practioner medicine. This doctor/ lawyer was not so stupid that she didn’t see a great opportunity to make a very cushy if very demanding legal job into a superb pseudo crime that no one had thought of before. Two incomes for one professional degree, that takes a sort of knowledgable ignorance. By the way, she and individuals with false stories of professional lives and education were God lucky that no one asked them publicly to deliver a difficult emergency birth or to administer their presumed medical skills for a patient with breathing difficulties or a patient in diabetic shock . Mistakes are made in the physicians healing art but medical charlatans have also been around for centuries to give out horrible rationalizations for their amoral acts.
AY, ironically that petition was in the email right before the one I opened for your comment here. ((*_*)) (said in intro:Below is an email from Frederick Ravid, a MoveOn member who created a petition at SignOn.org that is spreading like wildfire on the Internet, and we think you should check it out.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=269891&id=35461-3704815-tyfLZMx&t=2
Lottakatz: Thanks I was looking to do your cute yellow one though ((*_*))
but I like the one you just gave me too.
Could she be demoted to paralegal?
OTOTOT for Carol Levy
You expressed an interest in knowing how to make smileys, here’s how:
Leave a space (or para) after what you have typed then type a colon or semi-colon and no space, a dash and no space, a close parenthesis then leave a space. Voila 🙂
AY,
Great link. I agree that the good “Dr.” may be subject to malpractice claims since she lied about her experience and education level and if a client lost a case, they will be looking for anything to hang their hat on.
Carol,
Fox Guarding the Hen house…..
Monsanto petition tells Obama: ‘Cease FDA ties to Monsanto’
By Elizabeth Flock
A two-year-old Food and Drug Administration appointment is stirring up online protests once more.
Activists in Germany protest a court decision to ban a type of genetically modified maize. (Nigel Treblin – AFP/GETTY IMAGES) In 2009, President Obama appointed Michael Taylor as a senior adviser for the FDA. Consumer groups protested the appointment because Taylor had formerly served as a vice president for Monsanto, the controversial agricultural multinational at the forefront of genetically modified food.
In recent days, a petition calling for the former Monsanto VP’s ouster is gaining steam.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/monsanto-petition-tells-obama-cease-fda-ties-to-monsanto/2012/01/30/gIQAA9dZcQ_blog.html
I think Moveon.org is involved in this as well….
Carol,
You may be on to something…
something like the foxes overseeing the foxes ((*_*))
Carol,
I think you are onto something and one would think that “When she did hold herself out as an MD” she would have an exceptional knowledge…But then again, as I have said before…when I was practicing…some of the best knowledge came from the inmates themselves….they knew the system inside and out….and how to work it….
Anyone at that firm, or the bar, ever hear of the Canon of Ethics?
And I would surmise that some folks looking for plaintiff rep for a med mal case would hire her because they thought she would have a better grasp of the case because she “was” an M.D.
That claims gave her heightened credibility in her practice and her public work. She was even later selected as Massachusetts’ most beautiful lawyer, which included this description:
Susan, a medical consultant and senior associate for Kreindler & Kreindler, handles a variety of mass disaster, personal injury, and medical malpractice litigation. She has worked on hundreds of 9/11 World Trade Center cases, as well as on the settlement for the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist plan bombing.
Susan loves yoga and volunteers at charities such as Habitat for Humanity.
********************
Sometime beauty outshines the brains every time…But not every time….sometimes stupid comes out….and never goes back…..
Disbarrment for life. No question about that. The law firm has partners: Each partner suspended for six months from the practice of law with leave to re-installtment upon proof of compliance with the following: 1. Proof by testing of the ability to read and write; 2. Produce degrees for each member of the firm and credentials for every paralegal; 3. Produce copies of letters sent to each client the poser represented the entire tenure of her association with the firm in which the letter includes an application for a refund to the client.
4. Bar exam to be taken by the partners on the issues of code of ethics.
The law firm has willfully or is it wilfully particulated in a fraud. If they negligently participated they are worse than willfully in some respects.
Any party to a court tried case may apply for new trial.
Any party to a settlement may relitigate and file a new claim.
The doctrine of res judicata is not applicable to any claim in which the law firm, not just the poser, was involved in since the date of her hire as a paralegal.
The state should prosecute her for consumer fraud crimes.
Any client who has talked to her can sue her for medical malpractice. I am sure that she told them to take a Tylenol for this or dont limp on that side, or eat less salad. If a client talked to her or the law firm about medical malpractice then the client should get from the law firm, the amount of money demanded in the demand letter to the defendant in the malpractice case.
If she has a dog, the dog should be taken from her and given to a nice home.
If she has any patients then they should be advised of her fraud and advised of their rights to sue.
While you are at it give them this name and number:TalkinDog@DogAlawyer.com.
Or : DogCure@DogDoctor.com
How did she get away with it for so long? The firms partners had to know, they paid most of her law school tuition. The entire firm should be sanctioned.
And if they didnt know, what kind of lawyers are they?
Any malpractice claims on cases that she lost?
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Raff,
Would this be possible??
Any malpractice claims on cases that she WON?
(by opposing side of course?)
What? Did she see the movie “Catch Me If You Can” and think – Who-boy U gots to try me that too?
She should be fired by her employer and lose her law license for a longer period of time. Any malpractice claims on cases that she lost?