It’s Hard To Supervise An Incarcerated Paralegal
An attorney with a previous record of a public reprimand was suspended for 60 days by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The attorney was appointed to represent a defendant who was eventually sent to prison. While the client was incarcerated, the lawyer hired him as a paralegal:
“In late 2001 or early 2002, whileincarcerated, J.M., a former paralegal, informed Attorney Compton that he wouldbe interested in doing legal research work for Attorney Compton. In January 2002 Attorney Compton madearrangements whereby J.M. would perform legal research for him. Attorney Compton
forwarded a case file to J.M. at theDodge Correctional Institution without his client’s prior knowledge orapproval. J.M. performed legal researchon this file for Attorney Compton. Thereferee specifically found that while J.M. was incarcerated, Attorney Comptondid not have effective procedures in place to supervise J.M., to ensure thathis conduct was compatible with Attorney Compton’s professional obligations, orto ensure that J.M. would be able to maintain the confidentiality of the clientmatter while working from prison.”
The lawyer continued to employ J.M. after he was released. The lawyer was found to have failed to adequately supervise his paralegal. However, the court noted the finding that the work of the paralegal was well-performed: “while notexcusing the ethical violation or the potential harm to clients, the refereedid note that J.M., a former paralegal, apparently performed competently andobtained ‘good results’ for the clients.”
More serious misconduct was involved when the lawyer billed 120 hours of the paralegals time as his own, receiving $4,800 in court-approved fees as a result of false representations. After the misconduct was discovered, he self-reported to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. One might think that a fraudulent misrepresentation to obtain unearned fees from public funds, committed by a lawyer with a prior record, merits more than a 60 day interruption of practice. (Mike Frisch)