Paychecks cut off for Caledonia probate judge whose law license had already been suspended

By Ethan Weinstein

Judge William Cobb. Law office photo

Caledonia County Probate Judge William Cobb, whose license to practice law was suspended earlier this year, will lose his salary beginning Nov. 3, the Vermont Supreme Court decided last week.

Cobb has the opportunity to file a motion for reargument about the salary decision, according to the Supreme Court’s Oct. 24 entry order.

Without his license to practice law, Cobb, a Democrat, will still appear on the Nov. 8 ballot. He’s being challenged by Annette Lorraine, a Peacham lawyer with nearly 30 years of experience who is running as an independent.

Cobb had been suspended with pay despite not being able to do his job. His law license, suspended on July 10, will not be restored until October 2023, and the Vermont Supreme Court reaffirmed that decision last month. 

In May, Vermont’s Professional Responsibility Board, which investigates ethics complaints against lawyers, found that Cobb had been “dishonest and deceptive” and had shown “little remorse.”

The board sanctioned him on five counts related to two different cases. According to the findings, Cobb disclosed confidential juvenile records and confidential client information, failed to provide competent representation because he did not review recordings of interviews or follow his client’s wishes about modifying conditions of release, and misrepresented his timekeeping.

In December 2020, Vermont’s Judicial Conduct Board sanctioned Cobb for abusing his judicial position to gain an advantage for one of his clients who was facing criminal charges. The board did not specify the nature of that abuse.

In addition to being the probate judge, Cobb is the sole practitioner at a St. Johnsbury law firm.

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Paychecks cut off for Caledonia probate judge whose law license had already been suspended