RALEIGH, N.C. — An attorney who runs one of the state's largest divorce law firms was censured by the North Carolina State Bar for several reasons, including meeting with potential clients only to represent their estranged spouses later, a newspaper reported Friday.

Lee S. Rosen, of Raleigh, was censured by the bar's Grievance Committee after the agency received three complaints, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported. The censure doesn't affect Rosen's license to practice law.

Rosen was criticized for agreeing to represent a woman who lived in a county where his firm did not practice. He also was chastised by the bar for his firm's practice of having a lawyer initially meet with a client and then pass off the case to another lawyer without a full explanation.

Rosen, who has offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, said the censure was the bar's way of clarifying his office's business model.

The bar censured Rosen on March 5, but documents weren't posted on the agency's Web site. Dottie Miani, a staffer with the state bar, said it was an oversight. Rosen's censure had not been posted to the site as of Friday afternoon.

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