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WILKES-BARRE — A city lawyer charged with three DUI offenses in as many years has been disbarred from practicing law in Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth Jennifer Bartolai, whose law office was located at Jewelcor Center, Suite 212, 100 N. Wilkes-Barre Blvd., Wilkes-Barre, was disbarred on consent by the Disciplinary Board of the state Supreme Court, the board announced Friday.
Bartolai, 51, of Bear Creek, resigned from the practice of law in a letter filed with the court July 27.
Bartolai saw her law license suspended indefinitely effective Dec. 22, 2016, by order of the state Supreme Court after she pleaded guilty in October to driving under the influence of a controlled substance and was awaiting trial on a second DUI case, according to court records.
A third DUI charge from an arrest in October 2013 was withdrawn in December 2014 because the court determined there was no evidence Bartolai was “in actual physical control of the movement of a motor vehicle,” according to court records.
Bartolai pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in connection with the 2013 incident in which she was allegedly found slumped over the steering wheel in her parked vehicle. The disciplinary board alleged Bartolai failed to inform the court of the conviction within 20 days as required.
In addition to the DUI charges, court papers also state Bartolai had three open complaints against her by clients — for allegedly failing to move forward two cases and for showing up impaired for a court proceeding and a client meeting in a third case.
The disbarment takes effect Sept. 17.