Persaud v. Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

Filing 30

MEMORANDUM OPINION re: Pltf's Petition for Review. Signed by District Judge Claude M. Hilton on 03/27/17. (pmil, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA
Alexandria Division

CHRISTOPHER PERSAUD,

Plaintiff,
)

V.

) Civil Action No. 1:16-cv-00495

DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED
STATES PATENT AND
TRADEMARK OFFICE,
Defendant.

Memorandum Opinion

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Plaintiff s Petition

for Review and Reversal of Defendant's decision to exclude him

from practicing before the United States Patent and Trademark
Office ("PTO").

Christopher Persuad ("Plaintiff") was admitted to practice
law in California on March 25, 2009. Nearly three years later,

on July 28, 2012, the State Bar of California ("Bar") suspended
Plaintiff from practicing law for three years because he had

unlawfully collected and retained around $300,000 in unearned
fees. The Bar ordered Plaintiff to pay restitution and engage in

rehabilitative training. Later, Plaintiff misrepresented to the

Bar that he had paid restitution when he actually had not paid
restitution to the clients he had defrauded. As a result, on