Post a Pic of Your Penis--That'll Be a Disbarment

Cesar Baca, a Colorado and Missouri attorney has been getting disbarred all over the place following his conviction on indecent exposure charges following his posting of several penis pics to a person he mistakenly assumed to be a 14 year old teenage girl.  Kansas is the latest state to yank his ticket. 

Hat Tip to Courthouse News Service for original article.

Byron G. Stewart Is Drinking His Law License and Freedom Away

The Missouri disciplinary authorities have suspended Byron G. Stewart a lawyer who has progressively moved from simple drinking and driving into felony drinking and driving.  Here's a link to their opinion courtesy of the Legal Profession blawg.   Apparently, Mr. Stewart impressed the authorities with his recovery, but the Mo. Supremes think that a felony drunk driving conviction reflects poorly on the profession and are suspending Mr. Stewart for 6 months.  Mmmmm, maybe.

Ex-Judges in Shackles, Living the High Life

Former Mississippi State Court Judge Whitfield enters federal Court

Jack Elliot, Jr.'s report at the Clarion Ledger about the resentencing of former Mississippi State Court judges and the lawyer who bribed them in the wake of the reversal of "honest service" convictions is pretty strong stuff and fits in pretty well with the widely-published story of the resentencing of Lord Conrad Black that was all over the Internet the other day.  Here's an excerpt:

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to throw out the convictions of imprisoned ex-attorney Paul Minor and two former judges.  U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate heard arguments on the defense motions but said if there were an error in the judicial bribery trial, it was harmless.

"The jury found facts establishing guilt," Wingate said.



The defendants (l to r), Minor, Whitfield and Teel prior to convictions

Now, Minor and former Harrison County judges Wes Teel and John Whitfield must be resentenced because a federal appeals court vacated their bribery convictions in 2009. The appeals court upheld other convictions, including honest services fraud against each and racketeering against Minor.  Minor has long said he did nothing wrong. He said the loans were meant to help friends in times of need and that he expected nothing in return. He was sentenced to 11 years.

Teel was sentenced to nearly six years in the case. Whitfield was sentenced to more than nine years.

Wingate heard pleas from attorneys for both that the two ailing former jurists be sentenced to time served. All three have served about 42 months of their sentences.

Wingate made no ruling Wednesday and recessed court until 10 a.m. today at which time he'll hear from Minor's attorneys.

Attorneys for the former judges said they were in poor health. Teel had suffered a heart attack shortly after entering prison in December 2007 and had heart surgery in January 2008.

Whitfield has Crohn's disease. There is no cure, and the causes are unknown. With the disease, the immune system goes awry, causing inflammation in the intestinal wall. The disease is controlled by drug treatments.

"I'm regretful," Teel told Wingate. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I really would like to go home."

Whitfield said he also was remorseful for what led to his conviction. "Had I followed my code of ethics ... I wouldn't be before you today. I apologize for the stain I have placed on the judiciary," he said.

The attorneys said both men have jobs waiting for them if they are released and have families who need them. The government, however, asked for the maximum sentence for all three. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Fulcher told Wingate that following the 2006 federal sentencing guidelines would result in each defendant getting longer prison terms.
[AUSA] Fulcher said the crimes were serious and the government would be consistent in asking for the longest sentences available. "All these defendants put justice (up) for sale," he said.   Fulcher said the pleas for leniency "do not overwhelm the facts of this case."

A main issue raised by the defense is that the case was not built on bribery, and was instead based on matters like concealment. The defense contends recent court rulings narrow the scope of honest services fraud and concealment no longer applies.

Prosecutors said concealment was just an element of a bribery scheme. They say Minor orchestrated a complicated scheme in which he guaranteed loans for the judges, then used cash and third parties to pay off the loans. The judges then ruled in his favor in civil cases[ . . . ]
The [now, unconstitutional] law sa[id was] a crime for a public official to deprive citizens of honest services while in office[.]
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There, you go, some crooked judges and lawyers living the high life at their regional Club Fed.  They put justice "up for sale," of course that never should be allowed in our courts.

Aaron Biber Update--He Owes $15 Million to Raped Teen Male

In addition to the 18 years in the penitentiary Aaron Biber got for repeatedly raping his 15-year old neighbor, the Minneapolis's Star Tribune is reporting that a Hennepin County judge has ordered Biber to pay $15 million ($5 million compensatory, $10 million punitive) to the young teen male. 

As followers of this blawg know, Biber is the Minneapolis Big Law/Super Lawyer who at the time of his arrest for raping his teenage neighbor was president-elect of the state bar association. 

San Diego Foreclosure Lawyer Jailed

Pines in shackles

The ABAJournal reported, yesterday, via the San Diego Union Tribune website the story of the real estate lawyer who is charged with felony stalking following his disciplinary suspension for advising foreclosure clients to break and enter their former residences.  Here is reporter Lily Leung's story from SignOnSanDiego (the Union Tribune's website:) 

"A North County attorney whose [law] license was suspended in April for telling clients to break into their foreclosed homes and retake possession of them was arraigned Tuesday on several felony and misdemeanor charges related to stalking, filing false crime reports and practicing law with a suspended license, authorities said.

The District Attorney’s office, in a San Diego Superior Court case, filed the charges against Michael T. Pines in the Vista courthouse. Pines, who has made national headlines for his unconventional tactics, is being held on a $227,000 bail. He has decided to represent himself in court.

Prosecutors charge that the 59-year-old for roughly two months had been advising an evicted family to retake possession of their home, and during that process, stalked and harassed the current occupants — Phillip Ladman and his family — as well as Ladman’s business partner, Ronald Bamberger.

The District Attorney’s Office has filed a total of eight counts against Pines.   Of those, four are related to felony stalking in the Ladman-Bamberger incidents. Two of those stalking charges allege Pines violated a temporary restraining order, which was granted Feb. 23.

James Romo, the prosecutor assigned to the case, said the complaint against Pines lists one misdemeanor count of falsely reporting a crime to a 911 operator on Feb. 24 when he said the Ladman residence was being burglarized.   The remaining charges include: placing a 911 call for purposes of harassment, falsely reporting a crime to a police officer and continuing to practice law despite a suspended license.

Pines’ [law] license [is] 'involuntarily inactive' pending a hearing, after a State Bar Court hearing in late April.  State Bar Court Judge Richard Honn, in his ruling, said: 'Legal decisions are to be made by the courts, not the litigant. (Pines’) unwillingness or inability to obey court orders and follow the law of this state has tarnished the reputation of other attorneys and the legal community as a whole.'"
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It's always interesting to see a lawyer sitting in the dock, especially as with this case, the lawyer still thinks he is the best qualified person to represent him in court.  As I've said many times--fool for a lawyer, fool for a client.

"You'll Screw Up Again"

After the Bad Lawyer's sentencing, and my post about the sentencing, an anonymous commentator offered the observation that the he or she detected that the Bad Lawyer was still all about self. My anonymous commentator opined that based on my age, 56, I would doubtless screw up again.  I sincerely hope not. While not a saint, I hope to grow and mature, even at my late stage--God willing, I'd like to become a better human being. 

But my commentator's remark struck a chord with me.  The local news websites and disciplinary cases are rife with precisely the sort of recidivist bad lawyers, I hope not to become.  Columbus, Georgia lawyer Mark Shelnutt (pic, above) didn't have enough.  After being acquitted in a 2009 federal drug and money laundering prosecution, he got himself on audio and video surveillance dealing prescription drugs.  Good job.

At the link you can read the ABAJournal.com summary with links to the original stories.

Stan Chesley Disciplinary Case Update--The Beginning of the End of the Mass Tort Class Action Era?

Last week the Louisville Courier-Journal buried the lede, in a story updating the disciplinary charges against the lawyers involved in the Fen-phen class action scandals.  Essentially the report was about an associate attorney taking a disciplinary suspension, but the real story, buried deep in the account, was that there are active disciplinary charges against legendary Cincinnati class action attorney Stanley Chesley (pic). 

When I saw the story, I knew immediately that the buried story would turn out to be the "big story" and sure enough, late in the week the ABAJournal.com and professional class action objector, Ted Frank at his blawg, PointofLaw.com had picked up the report.  This morning, Jim Hannah at the Cincinnati Enquirer had a feature on the charges.  This is Hannah's update:

"The Kentucky Bar Association is investigating Cincinnati class-action lawyer Stan Chesley in connection with two of Northern Kentucky's biggest legal cases of the past decade.

The existence of the two separate, confidential investigations was revealed in legal documents filed in ongoing litigation involving a $200million settlement for Kentuckians sickened by the diet drug fen-phen, and in the $84million settlement for people abused by Covington diocesan priests.

Chesley's attorney, Frank Benton IV, declined to comment, citing Kentucky Supreme Court rules intended to keep ongoing disciplinary investigations confidential. Chesley is licensed to practice law in Kentucky in addition to Ohio.

The bar association also declined to comment on the investigations, citing the same rules. One of the ways a disciplinary matter can become public is when a bar trial commissioner makes a recommendation for disciplinary action, an association spokeswoman said.  The investigation into Chesley's conduct involving the diet-drug settlement was publicly disclosed in a trial commissioner's recommendation that Lexington lawyer David Helmers be suspended from practicing law for five years.

The report, dated Aug. 12, states the disciplinary charges against Helmers were to be heard in November 2009 along with those against Chesley. During the hearing, the report states Chesley argued successfully to disqualify the trial commissioner from hearing the charges against him.

Although the report doesn't state why the trial commissioner, Roderick Messer, recused himself, his son is employed at a law firm that has worked in collecting the $42million civil judgment against three disbarred Lexington lawyers involved in the diet-drug settlement.

Chesley, who was paid about $20million in fees for his role in the diet-drug settlement, was also named as a defendant in the civil suit. Although a judge ruled in June 2007 that Chesley wouldn't be allowed to keep all his fees, the portion of the civil case involving Chesley has been put on hold while the plaintiffs wait for a ruling from the Kentucky Court of Appeals on an issue in the case.

Chesley testified in the federal criminal trial of the three lead attorneys in the fen-phen case that his role was negotiating the settlement with lawyers for the drug maker. He said he wasn't aware of how the money was distributed to the people who got heart-valve damage from the diet drug. Two of those lawyers were convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to prison.  The second investigation became public when a priest sex-abuse victim filed a federal lawsuit May 27 in Covington against Chesley, his law firm and a law partner claiming that Covington Diocese sex-abuse victims were awarded less if they didn't object to the attorneys fees being paid. The suit was filed without the aid of a lawyer.

When the suit was filed, it included an exhibit that was a Kentucky Bar Association document dated December 2008 that confirmed a 'disciplinary matter' arising from Chesley's representation of sex-abuse victims. The document was a protective order issued by the chairman of the Kentucky Bar Inquiry Commission to keep private the names of sex-abuse victims who were to be called as witnesses in a disciplinary case against Chesley.

The exhibit has since been removed from the public record because it contained information about a confidential bar investigation, according to federal court clerks. U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves granted a motion on Tuesday by Chesley's lawyers to seal all future proceedings in the case.

An executrix of a sex-abuse victim's estate has also filed a similar federal suit that names Chesley as one of the defendants.

In a letter to The Enquirer, Chesley's attorney said the allegations outlined in the suits are false and that he plans to file a motion to dismiss them. A federal judge has set Monday as the deadline to file such a motion.

Benton said a judge, and not Chesley, set the attorney fees in the sex-abuse case and that two independent settlement managers, one being a retired federal judge, determined how much each victim received.

'It should be fairly obvious that the information contained in the … complaints is untrustworthy and without foundation,' Benton wrote. 'If you delve into this matter, you will have every reason to doubt the truthfulness and veracity of the plaintiffs who filed these two complaints.'  Benton attached the criminal background history of the executrix to his letter and the multiple bankruptcy/creditor suits against the sex-abuse victim. Benton wrote in a second letter to the Cincinnati Enquirer that publishing the allegations in the suits would 'injure the reputations' of Chesley and another lawyer in the same firm. The letter stated suits were sources of 'untrustworthy information.'

While the two people who filed the suits declined to speak with The Enquirer, they filed identical addendums to their federal suits July 16 in which they alleged that Chesley and his lawyer have committed libel, slander and professional misconduct in trying to discredit them.

'The aforementioned violations go beyond personal slanderous, malicious, defamatory, and libelous attacks on plaintiffs,'  the addendum read. 'They are brazen examples of the professional misconduct that continues with these attorneys. Their violations are brazen and unethical and illegal, and they are daring the court to stop them.'"
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There is so much going on here, it is breathtaking in its scope and potential. 

As I said before, I do not know Stanley Chesley, but I was a personal beneficiary by virtue of attendance at more than one of his lectures on continuing legal education topics particularly "discovery of incriminating documents."    If you want to read the dirt on Chesley from the perspective of the defense Bar you will do no better than Ted Frank's blawg which is consistently filled with anti-plaintiff vitriol written by Frank, a brilliant lawyer and polemicist. 

It is my opinion that at the top of any of these high end plaintiffs' practices, Chesley et al., there is a scale of arbitrary exercise of ego in the decision making that directly effects the lives of clients which can perpetrate harm and result in just such an orgy of chaos and scandal.  Please be clear, I am not saying that happened here, but in my personal experience, particularly when you are dealing with clergy sex abuse victims, you are already dealing with persons who were severely injured, exploited and harmed.  Some of what is echoing around the edges of this story is some ferocious personal attacks upon the character of clients who were already profoundly injured by their clergy.  The attempt by Chesley's lawyers to discredit the clients that complained to the bar associations sounds awfully similar to the tactics of the church circa 15-20 years ago.  These lawyers should bear in mind, how well that worked out for the church.

But there is a much larger story about lawyers, greed and ego the scale rarely plays out as markedly as it promises to play out in this case.  Chesley is an accomplished senior lawyer with a sterling legacy.  Chesleys' connections to politics and the courts and class action practices is exhaustively explored by Ted Frank, and you can also read Chesley's wikipedia entry at the link.  The point is, this story suggests to me the potential for a sea change in Class Action administration and collapse of a admirable reputation built up over several decades.

Disciplinary Suspension of Superstar Former Federal Prosecutor?

The BLT (Blog of the Legal Times) reports on the pending disciplinary suspension for a "Superstar" former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia arising out of multiple acts of prosecutorial misconduct dating back some 14 years.  According this guy's current "Big Law" firm biography.  G. Paul Howes (you can always tell Big Firm guys, they do this "first intial"-thing) was an Enron litigation lawyer recovering huge sums of money for defrauded stockholders, a former ABC news correspondent, and former counsel to then FBI director William Webster. 

Here's the BLT story:

"In what marks the latest twist in the long-running disciplinary proceeding against former federal prosecutor G. Paul Howes (pic), the nine-member Board of Professional Responsibility issued tonight a split recommendation on what sanctions Howes should receive for his past alleged misconduct.  In the board’s report and recommendation to the D.C. Court of Appeals, four members recommended disbarment for the former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, three recommended a three-year suspension of his license, and two recommended a one-year suspension.

Because none of the recommendations was in the majority, the final decision on Howes’ sanction will be up to the D.C. Court of Appeals. Given that the most miniumum recommended punishment was a one-year suspension, an ethics lawyer said the appeals court could suspend Howes’ license before making a final decision.

Howes, who served as a federal prosecutor in Washington from 1984 until 1995, handled some of the District’s most high-profile drug, homicide, and gang cases in D.C.’s federal and local courts, including the Card/Moore and Newton Street Crew cases. The investigations into his alleged misconduct has spanned more than a decade and involved two disciplinary agencies. In 1998, the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility issued a report that determined Howes authorized more than $140,000 in payments to 132 witnesses, including individuals who were not entitled to receive them. Howes was also accused of intentionally failing to disclose the use and misuse of the vouchers to defense counsel.

Howes’ alleged misconduct resulted in reduced prison sentences for at least nine defendants, many of whom were serving life sentences.  In a 2007 disciplinary hearing before a committee of the Board of Professional Responsibility, Howes admitted to six ethical violations, including false statement of material fact to a tribunal, failing to timely disclose evidence that tended to negate the guilt of a defendant, and engaging in conduct that interfered with the administration of justice.

On two other charges--prohibited inducement to a witness and committing a criminal act that reflects adversely on a lawyer's honesty--Howes argued that he did no such thing. The hearing committee found in August that the evidence against Howes did not support the inducement charge but that his actions did amount to false statements, which violates federal law.

The hearing committee ultimately split on its recommendation for sanctions with one arguing for disbarment, another arguing for a two-year suspension, and a third recusing.

Howes, who now works for Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd in San Diego, Calif., has argued that despite his admitted misconduct, there were mitigating factors that ought to be considered. The OPR report found that there was no evidence Howes personally benefited from the use of vouchers, that no witness changed his or her testimony as a result of the vouchers, and that Howes was “undoubtedly” using vouchers to advance the interest of the prosecution.

Howes has also argued that because of delays in the disciplinary proceedings against him, and because of his 'ethical and honest practice for the past 14 years,' he deserves leniency.

According to the board’s 87-page report and recommendation to the D.C. Court of Appeals, Howes conceded that 'under ordinary circumstances and taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances and all the violations stipulated to, ' a three- to six-month suspension ' may be appropriate.' He argued that once the mitigating factors were taken into consideration he should receive a 30-day suspension without having to show fitness upon reinstatement.   That argument found little traction among the board’s members, but even then they could not agree on what sanction he should actually receive.

The report, which is signed by its chair Charles Willoughby, inspector general for the District of Columbia, said, 'The board unanimously agrees with the Hearing Committee’s findings of fact and conclusions of law and we have adopted them with some exceptions. . . . There is no agreement by the Board regarding the appropriate sanction.'
Deborah Jeffrey, a Zuckerman Spaeder partner; Ernestine Coghill-Howard of the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration; and Russell Smith III of the Office of the U.S.Trade Representative, joined a statement in which they recommended disbarment for Howes to 'express the condemnation that [Howes’] conduct merits and to deter others from similar misconduct.'

In a separate statement, Theodore Frank, an Arnold & Porter senior counsel, also recommended disbarment.

Ray Bolze, a Howrey partner and the board’s vice chair, drafted a statement that was joined by Willoughby and Jean Knapp a non-lawyer member of the board. He recommended a three-year suspension without having to show fitness upon reinstatement because, 'In light of the unchallenged array of testaments by fellow attorneys, and two judges as to [Howes’] unblemished law practice since leaving the USAO over ten years ago, we find that Bar Counsel has failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that there is a serious doubt regarding [Howes’] fitness to practice after the expiration of the suspension.'

James Mercurio, a Washington-based solo practitioner, and Carmen Cintron, an administrative law judge at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, recommended a one-year suspension because, 'No one has suggested that the funds expended through the vouchers [Howes] signed were not prudently and efficiently directed toward the achievement of the highly important public goals that [Howes] was pursuing during the Card/Moore and Newton Street Crew cases' and that Howes’ conduct did not warrant a 'career ending sanction.'

D.C. bar counsel Wallace 'Gene' Shipp Jr. declined to comment.

In a statement, Howes’ attorney Paul Knight of Nossaman said, 'I intend to read this Report and Recommendation carefully and make a decision within the next 20 days as to the next appropriate step for Mr. Howes.'"
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I have recorded on this Blawg many stories of bad lawyer, especially my story.   I remain amazed that disciplinary cases can drip, drip, drip like "chinese water torture."  Does that mean Mr. Howes, who apparently committed unprosecuted federal felonies of false statements, should not be disciplined?  Probabaly not, he or his attorney may have had a hand in the many delays.  But it is frightening how many years after an event--after numerous physcial relocations and career moves you can be asked to account for your alleged unethical dealing with long closed legal matters.

New Jersey "Boorish" Lawyer

The invaluable Legal Profession blawg reports on the opinion of the NJ Supreme Court suspending a lawyer for one year.  NJ must be a pretty tolerant state, because this guy has had several go rounds with the authorities in the past, mostly relating to client communication problems. 

David Witherspoon's client communication problems now include soliciting sex from his clients in exchange for proposed discounts on attorney fees or as the NJ Supreme Court calls it "attempted sexual bartering."  Mike Frisch at Legal Profession summarizes as follows:

The . . . charges involved allegations that [Witherspoon] offered discounted legal services or refunds to three female clients and the daughter of a fourth client 'in the context of suggestions that they perform certain acts with him or with other women while he watched.' He told one lesbian client that her lesbianism was caused 'by a bad experience with the male sexual organ,' that she was 'looking good,' and that he 'would return $600 of fees she had paid him if she joined him on the office couch.' He claimed that these and other similar comments were made in jest.


The attorney's explanation was rejected by a district ethics committee and the Disciplinary Review Board. The DRB proposed a three-month suspension with two dissenters favoring a six-month sit down. The court here took a sterner view, although the court majority concluded that disbarment was 'disproportionate...for his boorish, insensitive and offensive, but hardly criminal, conduct.'
Justice LaVecchia, joined by Justice Albin, would disbar: 'A zero-tolerance policy toward attorneys who prey on clients, whether financially or as [he] has done, is needed to protect the public and the reputation of the profession.'"
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You know where the Bad Lawyer comes down on the exploitation of clients.  Clients are vulnerable and easy prey, the lawyer/predator is not fit to practice law.

The Tennessee Tantrum

A Greenville, Tennessee divorce attorney showed up for court believing the case was an "uncontested" divorce only to learn that in fact the matter was a "contested divorce.  According to the disciplinary opinion suspending him from the practice of law attorney Francis X. Santore went wild.

Santore exploded, he threw a cup of coffee across the courtroom and as he stormed down the court house stairs.  He violently wrenched a railing out of the risers.  Ultimately Santore was charged and plead guilty to vandalism and received a suspended year long sentence.  The disciplinary authorities suspended him for 33 months with all but 45 days "active suspension."

The Bad Lawyer blawg index is replete with accounts of outraged and angry lawyers some leading to fisticuffs, some involving bat wielding maniacs, vandals, nose biting, and tantrums of all sorts.  Some lawyers file ill-considered law suits and other forms of ridiculous pleadings traceable to out of control egos, immaturity and drug and alcohol abuse.  When I joined this profession I was astounded by the out of control acting out of lawyers, judges and others--usually unpunished and unsanctioned.  While still a law clerk, back in the day when complex documents were typed from scratch with each change I told a a veteran "probate referee" that he changed multi-page real estate transfer document in an estate matter 7 times requiring hours of re-typing.  The referee, who knew I was challenging his unthinking and arbitrary modifications--exploded and threatened to kill me.   Boy, was I surprised.

Now here's the thing.  I was wrong, according to the attorney I clerked for, why?  Because who cared how many times we walked this document back and forth between the courthouse in the middle of a blizzard, who cared how many times we had our secretary re-type this complex deed transfer--we got paid by the hour and this same referee would approve any fee we submitted for this work.  So, I apologized. 

Are you getting this? 

Who got screwed over ego?  The client.  In actuality, the beneficiary of whatever estate we were handling because larger fees were paid because the referee involved prolonged the process to assuage his ego; and, because some smart aleck law clerk called him on it.

Lawyers, especially young lawyer can be big baby's.  The divorce lawyer in Tennessee had planned his day out in a way that was rigidly fixed in his mind.  Perhaps he thought he could breeze from one proceeding to the next--and, when he discovered that what he though was a no-contest 15 minute divorce was in fact a "contested divorce trial" his control of his universe was upended.  He didn't get his way.  Reading between the lines of the disciplinary case, Mr. Santore is required to continue his involvement with the state lawyers' assistance program--this means he may also be coping with drug and alcohol issues.  This usually means the following equation applies:  attorney + alcohol=flaming asshole.  At least the latter calculus was true for me. 

Seminole Fla.- Area Attorney Caught On Tape Vandalizing Client's Home

This story from the Orlando Sentinel is pretty obnoxious placing me in mind of the story form last year of the baseball bat-wielding maniac lawyer from Charleston, W. Va. that we featured on Bad Lawyer last year.   This narcissitic creep is caught on video tape vandalizing a client's home apparently over a fee dispute and bar complaint--that the angry lawyer prevailed over!  Here's the reporter Jeff Weiner' Sentinel story (where you can also watch the amazing video):

"A Longwood (Seminole County, Fla) lawyer arrested on charges of burglarizing the home of a former client taunted his victim with several text messages threatening 'all out war,' according to a Lake Mary police report released Friday.

Albert E. Ford II, 43, who specializes in environmental and land-use issues, and Kasee Singh, who has owned realty, development and title companies, were locked in a dispute over fees, documents show. Singh filed a complaint in April with The Florida Bar. The group on July 13 informed Singh that his complaint was being dismissed because Ford's fees were not excessive or fraudulent. The Bar told Singh he was free to sue Ford if he wanted to pursue the matter. Messages left for Singh were not returned. Ford's attorney could not be immediately reached.

Among the Bar documents released Friday was a Feb. 25 e-mail to Ford from Singh demanding payment and stating that his 'former friend' owed more than $20,000.

'Well, you, sir, have proven to be a no good liar and I will be compensated for my work one way or another,' Ford wrote, adding he would win a lawsuit against Singh so 'the entire community knows what a sleazy, no good, deceitful jerk that you are.'

Ford remained in the Seminole County Jail late Friday on charges of armed burglary to a dwelling, grand theft, burglary to an occupied dwelling and damaging property-criminal mischief.  Police say Ford is the man shown on security video burglarizing Singh's Lake Mary house Wednesday. He was arrested Thursday at his home, also in Lake Mary.

The armed burglary charge apparently was lodged after Singh told police that he found ammunition and gun parts near his garage. They were taken into evidence. Singh told officers he arrived home from work to find damage to his house and pool. He also showed police several messages in which Ford offered a 'last warning' and referred to Singh as a 'weak puppy,' the police report shows.

'I declare all out war against you,' wrote Ford in the first message, received by Singh at 9:35 a.m. Wednesday, according to the report. 'I warned you against trying to go after my livelihood. This is your last warning.' In two other messages in the report received minutes after the incident, Ford asks Singh, 'Why are you so weak' and taunts, 'What's up weak puppy.'

Video and still photos released by police show a man driving up to Singh's house in a black pickup at 5:19 p.m. Wednesday, going to the front door, then walking around back and entering a pool enclosure.

Police say Ford broke the front doorbell, kicked a concrete bench into the pool and removed a pool tank and filter and canister on the side of the house near the pool. The filter and canister were found nearby.

In the video, the man, who was accompanied by a black dog — possibly a Labrador retriever — jiggles a large American flag in front of the house till it dislodges from its holder. He tosses the flag into the bed of his truck along with the tank and filter, then drives off with the dog in the pickup bed, too. Singh showed police three .380-caliber rounds and pieces of a gun he said he found near his garage along with broken glass from a shattered light, the report says. Before he was arrested, the report states, assistants at Ford's law firm told authorities that Ford often carried a gun.

Ford graduated from Tulane University Law School in 1995 and was admitted to The Florida Bar the same year. The Bar website has no record of discipline against him during the past 10 years."

Prominent Kansas Lawyer, Faces Child Enticement Charges

Well, we've been here before, but the Kansas City Star is reporting (let me acknowledge the ABAJournal for the first catch on this story) on the "prominent" Oveland Park Law Partner who was sending video of himself masturbating in his law office in an effort to entice a 14 year old into meeting him for sex.  Thi is Joe Lambe's account:

A partner in an Overland Park law firm is charged with attempting to entice a minor and with sending and receiving child pornography.  Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Samuel P. Logan, 45, of Kansas City, in federal court in Kansas. Federal judges in that state quickly recused themselves, and the case is now in federal court in Kansas City.  Logan’s father, James K. Logan, is a former federal appellate judge who heard Kansas cases and before that was dean of the KU law school from 1961 to 1968.

Samuel Logan is a partner in Foulston Siefkin, the largest law firm based in Kansas with offices in Overland Park, Wichita and Topeka. Jim Oliver, another partner in the firm, said it cooperated with FBI agents who were there Thursday. He declined further comment.

According to federal charging documents, Logan used a web camera to send images of himself masturbating in what appears to be a law office.

From June 1 through July 22, he sent them to an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl and also engaged in sexual conversations with the officer and sent images of adult and child pornography, prosecutors say. During conversations with undercover agents, Logan told them he was Sam, that he was 45 years old and that he was an Overland Park lawyer who worked on the fourth floor and drove a Toyota Camry, according to court records.
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Another Maritndale-Hubell "AV-rated" attorneyand past Johnson County, Kansas Bar Association president.

Aaron Biber, Guilty

Rochelle Olson at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that once prominent Super Lawyer, Aaron Biber, entered a guilty plea to first degree sex with a minor.  Excerpts from reporter Olson's story follow:

[Minneapolis] attorney Aaron Biber pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for sex with a minor over whom he authority.

Jury selection was set to start Tuesday morning for Biber, 47. Until his arrest, Biber practiced civil law at the Gray Plant Mooty law firm in Minneapolis and was treasurer of the State Bar Association. He is no longer with the firm and divorced from his wife since his arrest.

Biber cried as he explained why he decided to enter a plea. 'I thought a lot about it. The fact is I committed this crime. I don't want to put the victim, his family, my family, my sons and my former wife and colleagues through this,' he said. The plea gives to Hennepin County District Court Judge Lloyd Zimmerman the decision on Biber's sentence. Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Judy Johnsont said she will be asking for more than the maximum of 14 years because of 'aggravating factors' in the crime. The defense will ask for probation for Biber, who has no criminal record.

Zimmerman ruled that photos taken by the 15-year-old alleged victim wouldn't be admitted in the case against Biber.

One of the photos showed the boy with a small Adolf Hitler-style moustache and his arm raised in a Nazi salute. Zimmerman also declined to admit 37 images from the boy's cell phone.  Prosecutors sought to bar the photos. Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Judy Johnston argued they were inflammatory and not allowed under rape shield laws. Those laws prohibit the sexual history of an alleged victim from being used at trial. Johnston said the boy told her that he 'didn't know why' he took the Hitler-esque photo and that it was 'just a dumb kid thing to do.'

Defense lawyers wanted the photo admitted on grounds that it showed bias against Biber, who is Jewish. The alleged victim is not."

Grave Robber-Lawyer

Michale Lippman (pic) is a NYC/Bronx attorney who works for the "Public Adminsitrator" providing services which entailed handling the estates of intestate dead, in other words, helping to adminster the assets of those who die without having a will.  It tunrs out that this lawyer was stealing lots of money.  This is the New York Daily News account of the charges:

"[Michale Lippman's] a ruthless Bronx lawyer plundered $300,000 from the estates of the dead, prosecutors charge. Lawyer Michael Lippman, counsel to the Bronx public administrator from 1983 through last year, surrendered yesterday to face charges of billing for work he never performed on five estates. Lippman, whose shenanigans were first exposed by the Daily News last year, was arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court on charges that could put him in jail for up to 15 years. Public administrators are supposed to find heirs when someone dies without a will, and then fairly distribute an estate's assets as quickly as possible. The survivors are often vulnerable families unfamiliar with the intricacies of probate law.

The city Department of Investigation charged Lippman repeatedly took advance fees from the estates without court approval. In each case, the bill was either inflated or for work that was never done. DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said Lippman used his position 'to extract excessive and unearned fees from the estates of deceased Bronx residents.'  He pleaded not guilty and was released without bail. His lawyer, Murray Richman, said the statute of limitations had expired on the charges of grand larceny, scheming to defraud and falsifying business records.

Lippman pocketed more than $1.5 million in upfront fees between 2005 and April 2008, before he was dogged with questions about the practice. Records show that during that time, Lippman was drowning in debt - facing foreclosure on a $400,000 mortgage, $1 million in gambling losses and $600,000 in unpaid taxes.

Richman said the Bronx district attorney's office was meddling in a lawyer's ability to run his business. 'It puts a chilling effect on all attorneys charging fees because the district attorney has the opportunity to look over what fees can be charged,' he said.  Lippman is expected back in court in October."
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Over the years I've known a lot of fine people who practiced in this area of law.  There's also a vast capacity to do tremendous harm as we have seen repeatedly, here, on Bad Lawyer.  If true, this lawyer was a grave robber. 

Defiant Tax Cheat Lawyer Disbarred By Florida Supreme Court

The Legal Profession Blawg had a link to an opinion in the disciplinary case of Charles Behm, a Florida attorney who from the moment he became an attorney refused to report his income to the Federal government and presumably all other authorities under the novel theory that his services were "human capital" which he exchanged for payment that he claimed did not constitute "income."  Here's a link to an Blog account of the underlying story, apparently this former attorney was part of a tax protest movement.

The Florida disciplinary panel that heard the case recommended a 6 month suspension, the Florida Supreme Court was astounded by the conduct, the defiant attitude of Mr. Behm who said at his hearing that he had no intention in the future to become compliant with the law, and permanently disbarred this clown.  Notably Behm was already suspended for a prior disciplinary conviction for--oh, things like incompetence. 

You would think that the Bad Lawyer would sympathize with Charles Behm in light of my disciplinary suspension and guilty plea to a tax felony.  I was telling dear old friends last night that I entered a guilty plea to a tax felony, because I am guilty.  When I became a lawyer I held my right hand up and swore that I would uphold the laws.  I did not.  I am ashamed and disgraced.   I do not empathize with lawyers who can not or will not honestly accept their obligations to obey the laws.  Our actions, even when effected by depression or illness, have consequences.  When a lawyer says--I swore to obey the laws, but I'm not going to follow this or that law because I have a novel theory, they disqualify themselves from the privilege that their license conveys.  Let me go further, they obtained their license fraudulently.

I feel terrible about my disciplinary suspension and tax felony.  I am responsible.  I did this to myself, I did this to my clients, my friends, and my family.  I hope to live each day, including this day trying to find away to pay my indebtedness and redeem myself.  I loved being a lawyer and I wanted to do the right things while admittedly ill-equipped as a business man and perhaps emotionally.  I pray for the  miracle to be restored, or acceptance of anything else my Creator has planned for me in my lifetime in or out of my chosen profession.  I pray for the other lawyers in my position, that they can have a willing heart and mind--to be restored, to find a path, to find a way back, to find the ability and to be willing to pay the price. 

Representing people as a lawyer was and is a great honor.

Ripping Off the Elderly, How Nice!

Here's a particularly obnoxious story of allegations against a thieving lawyer.  Linda Littlefied (mugshot) is charged with exploiting elderly clients and using their credit card to vacation in Cancun, Mexico. 

According to the report at WDBO Local News, attorney Littlefield told her elderly clients that she needed the credit cards and the bills as part of the estate planning trust she was setting up for them.  Littlefield ripped off the elderly clients to the tune of $53,000+ including her Cancun trip.

Littlefield also stole money from the trusts she set up for these folks to pay the credit card accounts.

Next to abusing and exploiting children, abusing and exploiting the elderly is about a half-step in the circles of hell.

Post-script:  here is the link to the Orlando Sentinel's more comprehensive story.  Apparently Ms. Littlefield's victims suffered Alzheimer's disease.  Outrageous.

Evil Lawyer

Edgar Steele (pic), 64, a North Idaho attorney has been charged in a murder for hire plot targeting his wife and mother-in-law according to a report at the Idaho Statesman. 

Steele is a particularly loathsome character notorious for his unsuccessful defense of hate groups like the Aryan Nation whose views he espouses and embraces.  Mr. Steele is a the author of a book called Defensive Racism: An Unapologetic Examination of Racial Differences, (pub. 2000.)  He also maintains a presence on the web, including his own website where you can access his racist and anti-semitic tantrums.

According to the Idaho Statesman article on Steele's arrest, the murder of his wife and her mother was designed to appear to be a car accident.

Lawyer Disbarred for Sex Behind Bars

West Virginia attorney G. Patrick Stanton lost his license for working a fraudulent scheme to maintain a sexual relationship with an inmate, according to a report at the Charleston Gazette. Here's an excerpt from the Associated Press story:

T[he] unanimous ruling [of the Supreme Court] said G. Patrick Stanton Jr. pretended to be the woman's attorney to obtain a one-on-one visit with her at the Pruntytown Correctional Center.  Stanton had previously represented inmate Rose Auvil. Following the October 2005 incident, he resigned as head of the state insurance commissioner's consumer advocacy office. He had held the post for less than three months. The state Lawyer Disciplinary Board had recommended admonishing Stanton. The court disagreed, calling his act of deceit shocking and unprecedented.
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I'm actually fairly amazed at this outcome, if this story is trustworthy a lawyer has been disbarred for sexually misconduct shy of rape--in light of the wrist slaps that we've seen around the country for pretty outrageous conduct by lawyers in the realm of lawyer-client sex. 

The crux, of the disciplinary sanction appears to be directed at the fraudulent behavior of the lawyer combined with the position of trust as a public official.  It is the right result.

Uh, Your Court Appointed Guardian Is a Perv, Sorreee!

This is almost unbelieveable but according to the Dayton Daily News, a Dayton-area attorney, Kyle Kirks (pic) with a public indecency conviction has received and been admitted into Ohio's guardian ad litem program and was working with "half a dozen juveniles."  This is from Jim DeBrosse's report in today's edition:

"After graduating from University of Dayton Law School in 1997, Kirts embarked on a promising legal career that began as an assistant prosecutor for the city of Dayton.

In 2001, Kirts moved back to his home state of Illinois, where he soon became counsel to the state department of commerce and later an attorney for the Republican staff of the Illinois House of Representatives. In January 2009, he became the top attorney for the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police. All that would change abruptly in June 2009, when Kirts was arrested in a Springfield, Ill. park restroom for exposing himself and asking for a sexual favor from an undercover police officer while reaching for the officer’s groin. Kirts was arrested and sentenced to a year of supervision for public indecency.  In December, Kirts left Illinois and set up private practice in Dayton and began applying for positions with area juvenile courts as a 'guardian ad litem' — a paid court appointee who works with children caught in custody battles or suffering from abuse or neglect."
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I am a deeply flawed person and a genuinely Bad Lawyer, I am not throwing stones at Mr. Kirts, but I am at a loss as to what filters broke down in Ohio's processing of Mr. Kirt's guardian ad litem application.  The whole point of a Guardian ad litem is the state is looking out for the best interest of a child.  Talk about child endangerment.

Too Aggressive Arizona Lawyers?!

The Spanish speaking guy in the commercial is Jeffrey Phillips of the Phillips law firm.  The Arizona Supreme Court just affirmed short suspensions for him and his partner, Robert Arentz after a bar association investigation confirmed 22 violations of the state ethics regulations.  Essentially, Phillips and his partners operate a law practice on a business model that is not unlike the local carpet operation.  Their high pressure client intake  practices focus on getting clients "signed up" with as much money up front as possible according to the report at the Arizona Republic online.   These guys advertise non-stop on local television and radio.  Their non-lawyer staff received "bonus" payments for bringing in the sheep, which probably crosses the line into "fee splitting" with non-lawyers as an ethics no-no.

The Arizona Supreme Court and disciplinary authorities believe that the legal profession is, um, a profession and not a carpet store--so Phillips and his partner are getting a little timeout.  The problems for these guys are enormous--they will be required to let everyone of their current clients know in writing that they are serving suspensions and to get reinstated they will be required to go through hoops that may be difficult if not impossible to jump-through.   

Check out some of their other advertisements, these characters abound in the profession--these are the folks who are interested in dinero, not your legal problems.  They are the Mal Lawyers.  Hasta Luego, muchachos.