The Cost Of A Button

The North Carolina State Bar has filed charges against an attorney who is alleged to have made inappropriate comments and advances toward a client who he represented in a divorce and property distribution matter. Among the allegations are claims that the attorney inquired of the client the cost to unbutton or remove each button on her top. The charges further allege that the attorney said to the client “I would expect us to explore everything in the world sexually tonight we could think of…”

The attorney’s answer to the complaint has an introductory paragraph that notes that “[i]t is difficult for me to make statements that adversely affect the position of a lady…It is necessary that I make honest derogatory statements in regard to my former client…” The attorney denies that he assaulted or coveted the client and suggests that the complaint to the State Bar was motivated by her jealousy over his relationship with another woman.

(Mike Frisch)