V.I. Supreme Court Issues Public Reprimand to Attorney Webster for Confidentiality Breach

Webster violated confidentiality rules by submitting documents with sensitive information in a legal matter, leading to professional misconduct determination

Virgin Islands attorney Martial Webster Sr. has received a public reprimand from the Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Responsibility.‌ On Thursday, a notice from the board indicated that Mr. Webster had violated the rules of confidentiality by submitting documents as part of a court matter that contained information that was meant to be kept out of the public domain.

Mr. Webster was reportedly representing a client in a matter, and filed a motion for recusal/disqualification. Attached to the motion was an affidavit from his client that referenced a pending disciplinary complaint involving another attorney, in violation of a court rule that mandates confidentiality when it comes to attorney disciplinary proceedings. It appears that Mr. Webster obeyed his client’s instructions to file the affidavit as written, despite its reference to information that should have been kept confidential.