Philly lawyer suspended for 18 months after claiming to represent T.J. Siderio’s father in civil lawsuit without his permission
J. Conor Corcoran admitted that his actions were unethical and agreed to be suspended for 18 months.
Pennsylvania’s legal disciplinary board has suspended a Philadelphia lawyer for 18 months after he attempted to file a civil lawsuit on behalf of the father of T.J. Siderio, the 12-year-old who was shot and killed by police in 2022, without his permission — misconduct he acknowledged was driven by his desire for potentially high attorney’s fees on the case.
J. Conor Corcoran, 47, admitted that his actions were unethical, and agreed with the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania that he should not be allowed to practice law for 18 months, according to the board’s order, released Monday. He accepted “full responsibility for his misconduct and is remorseful,” the order said.
The board began investigating Corcoran earlier this year after he attempted to file a lawsuit on behalf of Thomas Siderio Sr., whose son was shot and killed by Officer Edsaul Mendoza in March 2022. Corcoran had represented Siderio in two civil cases against the city about eight years ago — both involving separate injuries Siderio said he suffered at the hands of Philadelphia police and prisons officers.
» READ MORE: Former Philly cop who shot and killed 12-year-old T.J. Siderio pleads guilty to third-degree murder
Because of this, he assumed he would represent Siderio again, said Corcoran’s lawyer, Samuel Stretton.
Siderio had been in and out of jail for much of his son’s life, and at the time of his death, was serving a six-to-12-year prison sentence tied to an illegal gun possession conviction connected to a fatal shooting.
Just two days after T.J. was killed, Corcoran, who hadn’t been in contact with Siderio in years, filed a writ of summons attempting to have Siderio named as administrator of his son’s estate — without having even met with or spoken to his former client about the matter, according to the order. He sent Siderio a contingency fee agreement the following month asking for an attorney’s fee of 25% of any funds recovered, but the father never signed it.
Other attorneys also vied to represent Siderio and his family, offering lesser attorney’s fees, according to the order.
“There’s multiple lawyers who want this case. 1 lawyer just offered me 20%. ... If you can beat 20% let my dad know,” Siderio told Corcoran, according to the filings.
Corcoran then sent letters to the competitors, including Shaka Johnson, telling them to cease and desist and threatening to file complaints against them. Siderio ended up hiring attorneys at Clearfield and Kofsky to represent him. T.J.’s mother, Desirae Frame, hired the firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky. They filed a lawsuit against the city earlier this year.
» READ MORE: Family of T.J. Siderio, the 12-year-old shot and killed by Philadelphia police, sues the city
Still, Corcoran continued to claim he represented Siderio, and in June, he filed a petition in Philadelphia’s Orphans’ Court asking a judge to find Siderio incapacitated and to appoint a guardian to oversee his estate and civil cases. The disciplinary board said Corcoran lied about Siderio’s mental troubles, and attached his medical records without his consent.
He also requested that Siderio and Frames’ attorneys be removed from the case.
“That was a terrible mistake,” said Stretton, Corcoran’s lawyer.
A judge dismissed both requests. Corcoran ultimately withdrew his civil action in July 2022 and acknowledged the family was being represented by other lawyers.
Corcoran acknowledged in the filing that his behavior was unethical and “caused harm to the public’s trust and perception of the legal profession,” according to the suspension order. Corcoran “got carried away because of the magnitude of the potential attorney’s fees that could be garnered” through the suit, the order said.
His conduct was not characteristic of his 22 years practicing law and he has no prior disciplinary history, the order said. He is remorseful and regretful. The suspension begins Oct. 30, and he will be able to begin reapplying for his legal license in 10 months, Stretton said.
“He’s a good lawyer otherwise, and he’ll come back someday and do a good job again,” he said.
As Stretton sees it, many attorneys involved acted poorly, driven by what has become a growing issue undermining the legal profession.
“Greed,” he said.