Jefferson City attorney Joseph Jacob Esther's reinstatement to practice law and being placed on probation after being suspended for almost 17 years and a Kansas attorney's reciprocal disbarment were among three disciplines handed down recently by the Missouri Supreme Court.
The Missouri Supreme Court sustained Esther's petition for reinstatement after discipline and reinstated him a member in good standing of The Missouri Bar, according to the high court's brief Dec. 19 order. Esther also was placed on five years' probation from the date of the order, which also granted him leave to file a motion for early termination of the probation should all conditions be satisfied before the end of the five year period. Esther also was ordered to pay costs in the matter, according to the order.
Esther was admitted to the bar in Missouri on Oct. 10, 1997, according to his profile at the Missouri State Bar's website.
Esther was suspended Jan. 23, 2001, according to the office of the chief disciplinary counsel's report for 2015. A previous petition for reinstatement after discipline filed by Esther was denied by the Missouri Supreme Court in November 2015.
In an unrelated action, the Missouri Supreme Court on Dec. 19 issued an order for the reciprocal disbarment of Dennis Molamphy of Wichita, who had voluntarily surrendered his license to practice law in Kansas and the Kansas Supreme Court issued an order of disbarment this past April.
In another unrelated action, the Missouri Supreme Court on Dec. 14 sustained a petition filed by Washington D.C., attorney Nadia Tahisha Sangster for reinstatement following suspension for failure to pay taxes. Sangster presented sufficient evidence that she has satisfactorily resolved the matter and was reinstated as a member of the Missouri Bar in good standing, according to the high court's order issued that day.
Sangster had been among 45 attorneys suspended earlier this year for their failure to pay taxes, according to the Missouri Supreme Court order issued in May. An attorney failing to pay taxes is in violation of rules governing The Missouri Bar and the state's judiciary.
Sangster was admitted to the Missouri bar April 18, 2007, according to her profile at the Missouri State Bar's website.