Ethics experts said a Washington state attorney’s recent disbarment for representing more than 150 “ghost clients” without his firm’s knowledge was an extreme case, but the lack of oversight during the past two years of remote work could potentially give rise to more examples.

Florian Damaso Purganan was disbarred, effective Dec. 27, after an investigation revealed that he used his firm’s resources to represent at least 150 clients from 2010 to 2019 without the firm’s knowledge, according to the Disciplinary Board of the Washington State Bar Association.