One Client Too Many

The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a public reprimand to an attorney who was retained to defend a domestic assault criminal matter. He thereafter represented both the victim and the accused in a civil matter involving a stop payment order on a check. When the attorney then learned that the check had been altered and the proceeds diverted, he did not withdraw from further representation of the pair and failed to appear at a hearing. In the criminal case:

Respondent continued to represent the boyfriend in the criminal matter in which the Complainant was the victim and arranged a plea for the boyfriend.  Respondent asked the Complainant to sign an affidavit indicating her desire to have the criminal charges against her boyfriend dismissed and she did so.  The boyfriend was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser offense of misdemeanor criminal domestic violence and was sentenced to time served.

In mitigation, the attorney was cooperative and “represent[ed] that his conduct in this matter was not indicative of his usual practice of law.” (Mike Frisch)