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'Beautiful Mass. Lawyer of 2009' Suspended for Posing as Physician

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on February 06, 2012 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Susan Friery was a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler, a plaintiff's law firm in New York. She was an attorney, and a doctor.

At least that's what she told people.

Turns out, she's not a doctor. And her law license has been suspended as a result of her untruthful assertions. Though that doesn't mean she doesn't look great. Friery was previously named as one of the most beautiful lawyers in Massachusetts in 2009.

Unfortunately she will not be able to practice law for the next two years. Representing that you have a degree when you don't is apparently a big no-no.

Friery allegedly told her firm's attorneys that she graduated from Columbia University with a medical degree. She initially worked at Kreindler & Kreindler as a legal assistant and medical consultant. The firm encouraged her to get her law degree. They even paid for 75% of her New York Law School tuition.

Friery graduated from law school in 1993. She passed the bar in Massachusetts and started off her legal career as an associate. She was elevated to partner status in 2009.

In reality, Friery didn't have a medical degree -- or anything close to it. She took four semesters worth of classes at the State University of New York Buffalo School of Medicine. She had been aiming to complete a Ph.D. and was studying to be a morgue technician. She left the school without any advanced degree.

In case you weren't aware, doctors perform work on live individuals. Morgue technicians work on... dead individuals. They're two different professions.

Friery eventually resigned from the firm in 2011. She later told the firm attorneys that she didn't have a medical degree. This is despite the fact that she was often referenced as a "Dr." or "M.D." on her business cards, letterheads, and in court papers.

So far there haven't been reports as to Susan Friery's side to the story. Perhaps this was simply a super long misunderstanding? Or maybe it got to the point where she didn't even know how to correct the incorrect perception that she was a doctor?

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