New York's secret discipline proceedings for lawyers are contrary to American Bar Association guidelines that call for an open process. New York is among 11 states that keep lawyer disciplinary hearings and records secret after investigators find evidence of wrongdoing, according to a survey by the American Bar Association. Only four of the 11 - New York, Missouri, Mississippi and Iowa - keep the process closed until a final ruling, the survey says. The confidentiality rule sealed information about the Lenahan Law Office for nine months after court investigators brought disciplinary charges against the firm's partners in November, 2005, restricting information about an abusive debt collection operation. Most of the case's records were opened after the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court on Sept....