AUBURN - An Auburn attorney admitted Tuesday to committing petit larceny by using funds held in an attorney trust account for her own spending.

Lisa Blair, 34, was sentenced by State Supreme Court Judge Joseph Valentino in Cayuga County Court to three years probation for the misdemeanor of petit larceny. Blair's plea satisfied the felony charge of third-degree grand larceny and two misdemeanor charges of issuing a bad check. She previously completed restitution.

Blair stood at the opposite side of the defense table in the Cayuga County courtroom where she usually represents clients. On Tuesday, she admitted taking money that a local woman was supposed to receive as part of litigation in which Blair's client was on the opposite side. Attorney trust accounts are special accounts in which attorneys, acting in the role of a fiduciary, hold client money.

Blair committed larceny by taking funds that did not belong to her but were entrusted to her attorney trust account between September 2005 and September 2006. Blair issued the money's distributee two bad checks from an Interest On Lawyer Account when there were insufficient funds in the account to cover the checks. One check was issued for $8,934.79 Sept. 1, and another check was issued for $8,418.37 Sept. 5.

Attorneys are required to segregate client funds from their own funds, and attorneys have the responsibility to promptly disburse funds to clients, according to the New York Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection.

“I've been a judge for 24 years and I never had an attorney before me convicted of a crime. The problem that happened is you abused your responsibility as a fiduciary,” Valentino said. Valentino handled the case after area judges recused themselves.

But Valentino said she had a “sterling past” of community service beyond the black mark of her petit larceny conviction.

Blair will be able to continue practicing law despite the conviction. Her probation conditions will allow her to represent clients in other counties and to visit with her children, who live in Onondaga County. But her law license could be threatened during a professional discipline process in which the Appellate Division, Fourth Department, makes a final decision.

Norm Chirco, who represented Blair, said a combination of financial and personal issues led Blair to commit conduct “that is totally out of character.” He said Blair's participation in counseling was guiding her to better manage her responsibilities.

“Factors developed in her personal life in which she did not deal well with her financial situation and with several personal problems,” Chirco said.

Blair did not address the court beyond answering Valentino's questions and she declined comment to reporters.

District Attorney James Vargason said Blair's restitution payments were the most important factor in the case, but counseling puts Blair “in a position to continue to address these (issues) and continue to improve her situation.”

Valentino said he would consider Blair's early release from probation if she stays out of trouble. Blair's counselor and her law partner, Jonis Strods, attended her appearance.

Blair has been practicing law for close to a decade. After graduating with a law degree from Syracuse University, she worked between 1998 and 2003 conducting law research for Judge Peter E. Corning. She went into private practice in 2003. Her work has included representing indigent clients charged with felonies as an assigned counsel.

Also in court:

€ Nicholas Raymond, 19, with a last known address of 6202 West Lake Road, Auburn, was arraigned on the felony charges of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an fatal motor vehicle accident without reporting and the vehicle and traffic infractions of unlicensed operator, speed not reasonable and prudent and failure to keep right. He entered not guilty pleas.

Raymond is accused of leaving an injured passenger, Timothy Hutchings, 19, without seeking help following a Sept. 2 accident in the front yard of 2850 Sand Beach Road, Fleming. Hutchings died within hours.

His $5,000 cash bail was continued. A pretrial conference was scheduled for May 29, and motions in his case are set to be argued July 17.

€ William Ryerson, a state prisoner held in Collins Correctional Facility, Erie County, was determined to be a level two sex offender, or having a moderate risk of reoffending. The former Cayuga Correctional Facility sergeant was convicted in 2003 of the felony of use of a child in sexual performance and sentenced to two to six years in state prison.

Ryerson is set to be released from state prison Thursday, May 24, but he won't be allowed to be released until the state Division of Parole learns of his sex offender status, said Wesley McDermott, Ryerson's attorney.

Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311

ext. 282 or at

amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net