A Las Vegas attorney with a long discipline record from the State Bar of Nevada has again been suspended.
The Nevada Supreme Court last month ruled to suspend family law attorney Alex Ghibaudo’s license for 90 days. In a recent interview with the Review-Journal, Ghibaudo claimed the “slap-on-the-wrist punishment” came about because he was targeted by the state bar and another attorney.
Ghibaudo also said he is done practicing law.
“I was already in the process of that when the suspension came down — I already vacated the office and I was winding it down,” Ghibaudo said. “I’m not going back.”
Ghibaudo’s history with the State bar includes allegations that he abandoned clients, made “unprofessional and demeaning” phone calls, and split legal fees with a nonlawyer for client referrals. In 2015, he gave an interview to the Review-Journal after he was reinstated from a five-year suspension, in which he said he was making a comeback from “a downward spiral of epic proportions,” caused by his depression, bipolar disorder, “drinking heavily and spending time with prostitutes.”
The Supreme Court suspended Ghibaudo last month after finding that he violated rules requiring him to make meritorious claims in court, show fairness to opposing party and counsel, and show respect for the rights of third persons. The high court also found he had committed misconduct.
The disciplinary proceedings also involved lawyer Michancy Cramer, a former family law attorney who previously worked for Ghibaudo and now practices civil law.
Cramer was issued a public reprimand after the Supreme Court found she committed misconduct and violated rules concerning fairness to opposing party and counsel, and respect for rights of third persons.
Records show that a panel from the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board recommended a reprimand for both Ghibaudo and Cramer, but the bar appealed that decision. Supreme Court justices Lidia Stiglich, Kristina Pickering and Ron Parraguirre signed the orders on Dec. 12 suspending Ghibaudo and reprimanding Cramer.
Attorney Karen Connolly, a family law, criminal defense and personal injury lawyer, first submitted a 14-page report to the state bar concerning Ghibaudo and Cramer, records show. Much of the allegations against the two attorneys stem from a family law case in which Connolly was the opposing counsel.
Both Ghibaudo and Cramer said the custody proceedings, which they took on in 2020, was one of the most contentious and difficult cases of their career. They also both said they felt like Connolley targeted them due to her involvement in the case.
Asked to comment, Connolly said in an emailed statement that the court record and the Supreme Court’s reprimands “speak for themselves.”
‘Worried about decorum’
Records show that Ghibaudo was accused of intentionally setting an in-person deposition on Christmas Day during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also accused of making inappropriate comments during court and sending multiple emails to Connolly that the Supreme Court ruled were only meant to embarrass the other attorney.
Ghibaudo accused Connolly of unethical practices in the emails, and also sent the emails to a mediator and the founder of the media website Our Nevada Judges, according to court documents.
In a recent interview, Ghibaudo said he was upset and “acted out” when he set the deposition on Christmas Day, and that his emails to Connolly were meant to be sarcastic.
Contentious interactions between attorneys are common in family law cases, Ghibaudo said.
“They’re more worried about decorum than anything else,” Ghibaudo said about the state bar. “They don’t want people to know what lawyers really are like.”
Ghibaudo claimed he did not have a “knowing mental state” during the instances cited in the recent disciplinary proceedings, according to court records. He told the Review-Journal he had stopped taking medication for his bipolar disorder during the family law case because he had difficulty accessing treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Guibaudo received his Nevada law license in 2007, and was issued his first temporary suspension from the state bar two years later. He was accused of abandoning clients, failing to account for client funds, making unprofessional phone calls to other attorneys and failing to respond to requests from the office of bar counsel.
From 2009 to 2010, Ghibaudo was arrested three times for violating a restraining order and domestic violence charges involving his ex-wife.
In his 2015 interview with the Review-Journal, Ghibaudo outlined his past and said he began treatment in 2012 that stabilized his moods.
In 2020, Ghibaudo was issued a letter of reprimand from the state bar stemming from three separate grievances levied against him. According to the reprimand, Ghibaudo was negligent in supervising an employee and split legal fees for client referrals from Steve Sanson, a longtime Family Court critic and president of Veterans in Politics International.
Records show the same family law case wrapped up in Ghibaudo’s current suspension led to a letter of caution he was issued in 2022, for failing to file court documents in a timely manner.
The state bar appealed the letter of caution —but the appeal was dismissed because the bar’s attorney failed to file documents on-time, records show.
“The very thing that they were investigating me for, the State Bar made the same mistake — they blew the deadline,” Ghibaudo said.
‘Clear and convincing evidence’
Dan Hooge, the general counsel for the State Bar, said the Supreme Court found “clear and convincing evidence” that both Ghibaudo and Cramer violated several ethical rules in the recent disciplinary measures.
“Attorney discipline serves a vital public purpose — it ensures accountability within the profession and reinforces the standards necessary for fair and ethical legal representation,” Hooge said in an emailed statement. “While attorneys subject to discipline often perceive themselves as targets, our aim is to uphold the integrity of the legal profession and to protect the public, the courts, and the justice system from attorney misconduct.”
In Cramer’s case, she was accused of calling Connolly a vulgar term after a meeting at Cramer’s office in August 2020. Cramer said that happened, the other attorney tried to force her way back into the building.
Cramer said the family law case caused her enough stress that she experienced health problems due to an autoimmune disorder.
She also defended Ghibaudo, stating he was zealously representing their client.
“This was not based on harm to Alex’s client,” Cramer said about the disciplinary proceedings. “And I think that has kind of been lost in this whole discussion.”
Ghibaudo said he could have accepted a public reprimand for his behavior, but he doesn’t believe he deserves a suspension.
“I acknowledge that that case didn’t go as it should have,” he said. “I could have been more, I don’t know, professional.”
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.
