Suspended lawyer sentenced for law office assault, DA says

A Hempstead-based attorney was sentenced Monday to 60 days in jail for attacking a woman two years ago in the lobby of his law office after a dispute, the Nassau District Attorney’s office said.

Lawrence Etah, 54, of Central Islip, had been convicted of third-degree assault by a jury in May over a July 7, 2015 attack that started when a woman slapped a phone out of his hand. In an incident captured on video, he then slapped her in the face, picked her up and slammed her head into a chair, threw her onto the ground and kicked her, authorities said.

The victim was treated at a hospital and released that day, officials said.

Etah’s attorney was not immediately available Monday afternoon.

Etah was also given 3 years’ probation at sentencing by Nassau District Court Judge Susan Kluewer.

He had been suspended as an attorney in February in an unrelated matter, in which he helped a client violate a court order, according to court records.

Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas said Etah deserves jail for his “disgusting display of violence.” “This now-suspended lawyer sent his victim to the hospital when he brutally attacked her following a minor disagreement,” Singas said in a statement.