Law360 (August 19, 2026, 10:57 PM EDT) -- A former Connecticut attorney under suspension for the past decade over his role in a $3 million stock pump-and-dump scheme deserves reinstatement and redemption, a client of his pardon consulting firm told a state bar admissions committee on Wednesday.

Testifying on behalf of Corey Brinson in New London Superior Court, Ray Morin said the formerly incarcerated attorney, who now runs the pardon consultancy Second Chance Firm LLC, showed great "tenacity" and secured him an absolute pardon for an old conviction.

Although it "sounds ridiculous," he asked the New London Standing Committee on Recommendations for the Admission to the Bar to treat Brinson the same way Connecticut consumers treat beverage containers under the state's bottle bill.

"This is a redemption center, and you deserve redemption, like a soda can," Morin said when questioned by Brinson, who represented himself at the hearing.

Morin, a Quinebaug resident, said he hired Brinson to help him clear "something from the 80s" off his record and prevailed before the Board of Pardons and Paroles in 2023.

"When I first met you, I didn't like you that much," Morin testified, saying Brinson was "a little arrogant."

But, he said, Brinson earned the right to be arrogant because he excels at his work. Morin said he referred his nephew to Brinson's firm, which has offices in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport.

"I believe what you do is super important," Morin said. "I believe in you."

In January 2017, Brinson pled guilty to a federal charge of engaging in an illegal financial transaction and spent about a year-and-a-half in a Pennsylvania prison. Prosecutors said he served as a purposed "securities counsel" for several companies involved in a pump-and-dump scheme that ripped off investors, moving $3 million in proceeds through his Interest on Lawyers' Trust Account and collecting $200,000 in fees.

Brinson told the committee he pays $1,000 per month toward a $1.4 million restitution order.

He was suspended from the federal and state bars, and he is seeking reinstatement to each in parallel proceedings. At a Hartford hearing in June, U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson told Brinson he would wait to rule on federal readmission until after the state-level committee makes its own recommendation.

Local committees recommended Brinson's state bar reinstatement in April 2022 and April 2025, but three-member panels denied those applications each time. The first panel said he had not shown that he had the requisite "moral character and trustworthiness," while the second questioned his response to a November 2023 grievance complaint that accused him of improperly collecting referral fees from his father-in-law, who was also an attorney.

The second panel also cited Brinson's "unjustified reliance on an informal opinion that was ... clearly not on point, and his blame-shifting explanations for his conduct," along with his failure to disclose the matter to the committee.

On Wednesday, Brinson reiterated comments he had made to Judge Thompson, explaining that upon reflection and review of the case record, he now understands that he bobbled the fee referral issue and "should have avoided that arrangement altogether." He said that when he defended himself, he was thinking like a lawyer responsible for zealous advocacy, rather than listening and learning.

Brinson said that he "treated the criticism as something to defeat. That was an error in my judgment."

Brinson is a former Hartford city councilor and veteran of the U.S. Air National Guard. A graduate of the University of Connecticut, he earned a Master of Laws degree in human rights and social justice and a Master of Business Administration after leaving prison.

Kerry G. Patton, representing the Statewide Grievance Committee, said he was "impressed" by Brinson's post-prison turnaround, but flagged his "recent conversion" about the fee referral issue.

"Clearly he's got the education, training, intellect to be a successful attorney," Patton said.

But, he added, "there is something very performative in Mr. Brinson's testimony."

On March 4, Superior Court Judge Susan Quinn Cobb allowed Brinson to work as a paralegal under the supervision of attorney Richard S. Cramer out of a shared address in Hartford's CityPlace II office tower. Under an agreement with the state's Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, Brinson's communications with clients are limited to scheduling, procedural and administrative matters.

Witnesses who supported Brinson at the New London hearing included Cramer; attorney Justin Freeman, who served federal prison time for filing a false tax return and now owns a law firm; and attorney DeVaughn Ward, who served as trustee of Brinson's firm after he was charged and is now the state's correction ombudsman.

Brinson, Ward said, was a mentor early in his career. When Ward won the Visionary Award from the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, he asked Brinson to introduce him at a May 28 ceremony attended by legal elites from across the state, including Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins.

"I honestly thought it was a beautiful story arc for the evening," Ward testified, noting Brinson's efforts at rehabilitation and helping others.

Cramer praised Brinson as "a changed person" and "exemplary at what you do and how you think."

Before Brinson's conviction, Cramer said they worked together on some federal criminal matters, and Brinson was always polite, candid and sincere with clients. Brinson said Wednesday that Cramer was one of the few people who visited him while he was incarcerated.

Cramer said he plans to retire within the next 18 months, and he is disposing of his last remaining cases. If Brinson were licensed again, he could attend court to represent clients in his place, Cramer said.

According to Freeman — another one of Brinson's pardon consulting clients — there is a "huge need" for attorneys in Hartford. He credited Brinson's post-incarceration volunteer work and affiliation with "countless" civic associations.

"I like to see action as opposed to just words," Freeman said.

He added that going to prison "was the easiest part" of his own experience, pointing to the seven-figure payment he made to the federal government, the public embarrassment, and the loss of his firearms due to his status as a felon. Brinson's punishment, Freeman said, should not last forever.

"It comes to a point where enough should be enough," he said.

Brian B. Staines, the state's chief disciplinary counsel, asked the committee to consider imposing conditions on Brinson's reinstatement, including that Cramer continue serving as a mentor. Staines also wants Brinson to carry $1 million in malpractice insurance, if he is able to secure a policy at a reasonable cost, and to submit to quarterly IOLTA reconciliations with Statewide Grievance Committee auditors for two years.

Brinson said those conditions were "reasonable."

The committee did not make a recommendation Wednesday.

The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel is represented in-house by Brian B. Staines.

The Statewide Grievance Committee is represented by Kerry G. Patton.

Brinson is representing himself.

The case is Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel v. Brinson, case number UWY-CV16-6095776-S, in the Waterbury Judicial District of the Connecticut Superior Court.

--Editing by Adam LoBelia.

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