PORTLAND (AP) – A longtime partner at a top Portland law firm has been permanently disbarred after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $300,000 from clients and the firm.

The state board that oversees the profession says John Duncan is the first lawyer in Maine to get a lifetime ban.He pleaded guilty as part of an agreement in which the state recommended that he serve 2 years in prison.

Disbarred lawyers generally can seek reinstatement after a period of time. But Justice Warren Silver wrote that a lifetime ban was warranted because of the size of the theft, and the fact it continued for 10 years.