A disbarred Pennsylvania attorney convicted of misusing school funds told an ethics panel Tuesday that he deserves a second chance, claiming the disciplinary committee unfairly ignored his remorse while wrongly assuming he had directly profited from the scheme.
Attorney David Shulick, once a well-known education contractor for the Philadelphia School District, urged the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reinstate his license. His counsel, Robert W. Sink, argued that Shulick accepted responsibility for his role in the scandal but maintained that no court had ever found he personally embezzled money.
“No court has found — no jury, no judge, not even the Third Circuit — that he directly embezzled,”
Sink told the board, contending the hearing committee’s interpretation of Shulick’s remorse was unjust.
Background: Conviction Tied to School District Misuse
Shulick was convicted under U.S. Code Title 18, Section 666, for misappropriating school district funds that were meant to operate Philadelphia’s Southwest School. Prosecutors alleged that Shulick redirected portions of the money to Chaka Fattah Jr., the son of former U.S. Congressman Chaka Fattah, who was also convicted on related embezzlement and fraud charges.
In 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court disbarred Shulick retroactive to 2018, when he was first suspended following the criminal charges. In July 2024, he filed for reinstatement, arguing that his remorse was genuine and that he had already paid his dues, including serving a federal prison sentence.
