Articles Posted in Legal Ethics

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The case is captioned In re Michael Naphtali Miller, 2012 PR 00072

In 2004, Miller represented Jeanne O. Meyer in the sale of her home. Ms. Meyer was 77 years old at the time. In 2009, Miller prepared statutory powers of attorney for healthcare and property for Ms. Meyer, both of which named Miller as the agent. Miller submitted an invoice for $2500 for the work on the powers of attorney and for a review of other estate planning documents. The invoice was paid in full.

In 2010, Miller requested and received from Ms. Meyer a “retainer for 2010 Legal Services” in the amount of $25,000. In February 2010, Miller met with Ms. Meyer at the nursing home where she resided and asked her to loan him $50,000. In November 2010, Miller gave Ms. Meyer a promissory note in which he agreed to repay the loan. Miller admitted that he was in financial difficulties at the time he obtained the retainer and the loan.

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The case is captioned Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board v. Robert Allan Wright, Jr., 13-0780, December 6, 2013.  The Iowa Supreme Court disciplined Wright for (a) failing to recognize a Nigerian scam and (b) allowing other clients to participate in the scam.  This case has received a fair amount of press attention, but the press has ignored the main issue in the case from a lawyer discipline perspective.

The trouble began when Wright was contacted by a client, Floyd Madison who informed Wright that Madison was the beneficiary of a large bequest from a long-lost cousin in Nigeria. Madison told Wright that he needed to pay $177,660 in inheritance taxes and then he (Madison) would receive the money. Most lawyers would have told Madison that the transaction was a scam. Wright, however, drafted a contingency fee agreement under which Wright would receive 10% of the inheritance in exchange for representing Madison.

Wright then made more mistakes. He urged several of his clients to loan money to Madison to help Madison pay the “inheritance taxes.”  At Wright’s urging, several of his other clients made loans to Madison. Wright placed the proceeds of the loans in his trust account. The opinion states “Wright stipulated that he failed to advise White, Stodden and Nunneman that they should seek independent counsel before making the loans to Madison.”

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Filed December 13.

This is a decision of the ARDC Review Board recommending a three-year suspension for a lawyer who attacked the integrity of four judges. The Review Board concluded that the statements were not protected by the First Amendment because the statements were obviously false. The lawyer accused the judges of corruption when they did not agree with him.

Rule 8.2(a) is relevant here. It provides in relevant part: ”

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IN RE KARAVIDAS, Ill: Supreme Court 2013 – Google Scholar.

This is an important decision by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Court considered whether to impose discipline on an attorney who acted as the executor of his father’s estate. As the executor the attorney took substantial loans from the Estate, although he later repaid the loans. Further, the attorney was a beneficiary of the estate.  Karavidas did not act as the lawyer for the estate. Karavidas was found out when a relative began examining trust records. The probate court removed Karavidas as the executor.

The Supreme Court held that Karavidas breached his fiduciary duty to the estate by making loans to himself. The Court declined to rule on whether he had converted estate property. In a decision that is counter-intuitive, the Court held that there was no proof that Karavidas violated any specific rule of professional conduct and that the charges should be dismissed. The court explains:

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Kadlec v. Sumner, Ill: Appellate Court, 1st Dist., 2nd Div. 2013 – Google Scholar.

This is an opinion affirming the dismissal of a contribution claim against an accounting firm.

The executor of an estate sued the lawyer for the estate, alleging that the lawyer failed to timely file estate tax returns and that the estate suffered a financial loss as a result. The lawyer then filed a contribution claim against the accounting firm. The trial court dismissed the contribution claim on the ground that the statute of limitations for accounting malpractice had expired.

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Kramer v. AMERICAN BANK AND TRUST COMPANY, NA, Dist. Court, ND Illinois 2013 – Google Scholar.

Magistrate Cole has written an opinion denying a motion to disqualify an attorney for a plaintiff class in a class action.

The plaintiffs are represented by Ari Karen. The defendant is the American National Bank. The Bank claimed that Karen formed an attorney-client relationship with the Bank by exchanging confidential information with one of the bank’s management consultants at a seminar. Magistrate Cole rejected the claim and concluded that the Bank’s consultant did not provide credible testimony.

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The case is captioned In the Matter of Thomas M. Dixon, 71S00-1104-D1-196.

The Indiana Supreme Court dismissed all charges against Thomas Dixon, an attorney who represented 85 pro-life protestors in proceedings before Judge Jenny Pitts Manier.  Judge Manier is married “to Professor Edward Manier, who was a tenured professor at Notre Dame and taught there for 48 years.”

Dixon filed a motion for a change of judge. He sought Judge Manier’s recusal “based on her husband’s alleged advocacy in favor of pro-choice causes and academic freedom for Notre Dame, along with Judge Manier’s failure to disclose this alleged advocacy. [Dixon] argued that his clients were arrested because they acted on beliefs about abortion and academic freedom for Notre Dame that were directly contrary to the beliefs allegedly advocated by Professor Manier during her career….In addition [Dixon] cited Judge Manier’s allegedly erroneous rulings in [a prior case involving abortion-rights protestors.].”

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The case is captioned In the Matter of Joseph Stork Smith, 29S00-1201-D1-8.

The Indiana Supreme Court disbarred an attorney for “revealing confidential information relating to his representation of a former client by publishing the information in a book for personal gain.”  The lawyer also allegedly had a sexual relationship with the client. In the book, the lawyer revealed “such details as his negotiations regarding bail and plea agreements, conversations with a police detective, conversations with [client] pertaining to the charges and her incarceration, [client’s] mental and physical state, the source of funds for restitution, discussions about his fees, and personal thoughts about [client] and about the matters.”

The Indiana Supreme Court rejected the claim that the lawyer obtained the client’s consent before disclosing the confidences.  The Indiana Supreme Court was especially concerned that the confidential information was revealed for personal financial gain.  The main violation alleged was Rule 1.9(c)(1) and (2) which prohibit disclosures of information concerning former clients.

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A qui tam case is a case in which a plaintiff, usually a former insider, sues his former employer on behalf of the United States and alleges that the United States was defrauded. The plaintiff is referred to as a “relator.” The relevant statute is the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. Section 3729, which allows qui tam actions on behalf of the United States to allow the United States to recover where the government was defrauded. In many cases, the United States takes the case over and proceeds to judgment. The individual relator is then awarded a fee for bringing the fraud to the attention of the United States.

This is an unusual qui tam action, United States of America, Fair Laboratory Practices Associates v. Quest Diagnostics, Unilab Corp., Second Circuit, 11-1565-cv, in which the Second Circuit upheld the disqualification of the defendant’s former general counsel from acting as a plaintiff against his former employer. The attorney, Mark Bibi, for several years was the general counsel for a corporation that was later purchased by the Defendant.

The Bottom Line:

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BEFORE THE HEARING BOARD.

Avvo.com is a website that rates lawyers. Most lawyers have profiles on the site, even if you do not “claim” the profile. Here, a client criticized a lawyer on Avvo and the lawyer made the mistake of responding to the review in detail. The problem was that the response allegedly revealed confidential information.

The ARDC alleges:

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