A Loony Lawyer...?
Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014 5:29 pm
sourceCalifornia lawyer facing suspension for Photoshopping herself into celebrity photos
Posted on Thursday, September 18 at 1:58pm | By Evan Sernoffsky
A Los Angeles-based attorney who allegedly Photoshopped herself into pictures with A-list celebrities and high-ranking officials is at risk of having her State Bar license suspended after she posted the photos on her website and refused to take them down, court documents show.
State Bar Court Judge Donald F. Miles found Svitlana Sangary used “deceptive advertising” when she superimposed shots of herself with the likes of President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, George Clooney, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and some 50 others, The Recorder newspaper first reported.
In several of the photos, Sangary clearly copied the same picture of herself.
The State Bar found that many, if not all, of the photos on Sangary’s website “were created by taking original celebrity photos and then overlaying (Sangary’s) image in order to make it appear as though (Sangary) was in the presence of that celebrity.”
Rather than deleting the photos after being called out by state officials in 2013, Sangaray dug in. She responded to the allegations with “a 16-page soliloquy with little to no rational connection to the charges at hand,” Miles wrote.
Here is an excerpt from the “soliloquy.”
“Also, with regard to false statements and misleading advertisement, none other than Natalie Portman comes to mind. The online media extensively covers the controversy surrounding Natalie Portman’s performance in the film Black Swan. The ballet dancer who performed in the Black Swan, Sarah Lane, has come forward to revel [sic] a ‘cover-up’ and says that Natalie Portman’s head was superimposed on to Sarah Lane’s body, and that Natalie Portman lied.”
Miles said Sangaray attached 30 more exhibits, including an e-mail from President Obama asking that she chip in “$3 or more” to help the Democratic Party.
For two years, the photos remained on Sangary’s website as she continued to dodge disciplinary conferences with the court, Miles said. The page of photos has since been removed from her site, but the images were still visible on an older version, the Recorder found.
The court recommended that Sangary be suspended for 6 months placed on probation for three years. That decision is awaiting approval from the state Supreme Court.
