Pay Me Now!

License Suspsenion for Pistol Whipping a Colleague, Seems Appropriate

The IndyStar.com website relates the story of the Indianapolis attorney who is awaiting trial for pistol whipping a colleague and the emergency steps taken by the Indiana Supreme Court to suspend the lawyer's license in the interim:

"Augustus Mendenhall (pic), 39, has been jailed on $3 million bond since he was accused of trying to kill Democratic state Rep. Ed DeLaney, also an Indianapolis attorney, by holding him at gunpoint and severely beating him during an encounter Oct. 31 in Carmel.  The Supreme Court's Disciplinary Commission requested the emergency license suspension. Mendenhall's attorney, Jack Crawford, said he consented.

Mendenhall's trial is set for Sept. 7 in Hamilton Superior Court.

The attack apparently was motivated by a 26-year-old legal dispute between Mendenhall's father, Burke, and DeLaney, police said. Crawford said the younger Mendenhall is pressing an insanity defense."
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Talk about the wages of ego! 

This is actually a fascinating case, apparently DeLaney was involved in a lawsuit int he 1980s that resulted in the elder Mendenhall losing real property that was confiscated because it "was gong to be used to sell pornography." 

The younger Mendenhall lured DeLaney to a vacant lot where the revenge attack took place.  Mendenhall apparently intended to kill DeLaney but the pistol jammed and Mendenhall committed the pistol whipping instead.  According to news accounts, the younger Mendenhall had just returned from Miami and was homeless at the time of the attack.

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.

My Friend Laura Votes For This Lawyer's Bad Advertsing--As Worst!

Tim Misery's Advertising is appalling because those in and around his area says no one has ever seen him try anything, but his advertising makes you think, he's the King of Torts. 

Tony the Tiger Does Not Roar....GREAAAT!

Anthony "Tony the Tiger" Lopez, a Las Vegas-area ambulance chaser was reprimanded for running a spanish language radio commercial lying about money persons in car accidents are "entiteled" to...he tried to claim that he was merely informing hispanic Nevada residents of the requirements to maintain a $15,000 minimum liability insurance policy.  Sensibly, the authorities wondered why he didn's simply say that listeners were required to maintain a minimum $15,000 liability insurance policy.

Lopez was reprimanded, his apparent lying didn't cost him anything extra.  I saw the story at the ABAJournal, but the colorful local report is at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

These Guys Have No Shame--Personal Injury Advertising

Annals of Bad Lawyer Advertising--Text Me!

Here's one that comes by way of the ABA Journal website, and the Las Vegas Review Journal website accident attorneys advertising to prospective clients, "Text Me."  That's right Ed Bernstein, pic, has spent about $50k last year alone to tell accident victims to text him. 

This is from Jennifer Robinson's piece in the Las Vegas Review Journal:

"'If you want to reach out to potential clients under the 'age of 40, texting is a really important way to do that," said Bernstein, a pioneering legal marketer who was the first local attorney to buy billboard space and advertise in Spanish. 'I see texting as another new beginning, another first for our firm that will help us make legal services available to the public as easily as possible.'

So Bernstein has rolled out television spots advertising a specialized, dedicated business-texting number -- 24-00-00 -- through which consumers can text him in an emergency, or if they think they might have a case."
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This reminds me of my days with the ambulance chasers, I had lunch with one of the veteran bottom-feeders and we were crossing OurTown public square when we witnessed a city bus rear end a car sitting at a light.  Very minor "fender bender."  My senior collegue reached in his pocket and handed the apparently unharmed passengers business cards.  I was astounded, especially when they showed up to file a claim against the cirty bus operators. 

Well, let's just hope that Bernstein's prospective clients text the attorney after the accident!