Matter of Alpert (2022 NY Slip Op 03449) Matter of Alpert 2022 NY Slip Op 03449 Decided on May 26, 2022 Appellate Division, First Department Per Curiam Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports. Decided and Entered: May 26, 2022 SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION First Judicial Department Judith J. Gische,J.P., David Friedman Peter H. Moulton Saliann Scarpulla Bahaati E. Pitt, JJ. Motion No. 2022-01013 Case No. 2021-03940 [*1]In the Matter of Sara Alpert, (admitted as Sara Olivia Alpert) an Attorney and Counselor-at-Law: Attorney Grievance Committee for the First Judicial Department, Petitioner, Sara Alpert, (OCA Atty. Reg. No. 5623749) Respondent. Disciplinary proceedings instituted by the Attorney Grievance Committee for the First Judicial Department. Respondent, as Sara Olivia Alpert, was admitted to the Bar of the State of New York at a Term of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court for the Second Judicial Department on August 22, 2018. Jorge Dopico, Chief Attorney, Attorney Grievance Committee, New York (Vitaly Lipkansky, Esq., of counsel), for petitioner. Michael S. Ross, for respondent. Per Curiam Respondent Sara Alpert was admitted to the practice of law in the State of New York by the Second Judicial Department on August 22, 2018, under the name Sara Olivia Alpert. At all relevant times, respondent was employed by a law firm located within the First Judicial Department. In 2021, the Attorney Grievance Committee (Committee) filed a notice of petition and petition of charges pursuant to Judiciary Law § 90(2) and the Rules for Attorney Disciplinary Matters (22 NYCRR) § 1240.8, seeking an order directing that respondent be disciplined for her intentionally dishonest conduct in seeking to conceal her failure to file H-1B visa applications in violation of several Rules of Professional Misconduct (RPC) (22 NYCRR 1200.0). The Committee and respondent jointly move pursuant to 22 NYCRR 1240.8(a)(5) for discipline by consent and request the imposition of a six-month suspension. In support, the parties submit a joint affirmation that includes, inter alia, a stipulation of facts and factors in aggravation and mitigation, and respondent's affidavit in which she conditionally admits to the facts as set forth in the stipulation and conditionally admits that she violated RPC rules 1.3(a), and 8.4(c) and (h), as set forth in the joint affirmation (22 NYCRR 1240.8(a)(5)(i) and (iii)). Further, respondent consents to the agreed-upon discipline, which consent is given freely and voluntarily without coercion or duress, and she attests that she is fully aware of the consequences of consenting to such discipline. Respondent joined a law firm (Firm) following law school, handling business-related immigration matters, including H-1B visas (employment-based visas for foreign workers) and updating client immigration filings. Beginning in or about 2019, a Firm client merged with another company, necessitating the client's employees holding H-1B visas to amend their employer's name. The following facts are taken from the parties' joint affirmation: In April 2019, respondent was assigned to assist a senior …
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