No Show Lawyer Gets Disbarred

A recent disciplinary decision from the Maryland Court of Appeals

This attorney discipline matter concerns an attorney who accepted $2,500 from a client as a retainer for a divorce case, had no further communication with her client, performed no work on the matter, and apparently abandoned her Maryland law practice. The attorney, who did not maintain a separate trust account, deposited the client’s payment into a general account and never returned the unearned fee to the client. The attorney did not cooperate with Bar Counsel’s disciplinary investigation, failed to respond to the disciplinary charges later filed against her, and did not participate in the proceedings before the hearing judge or our Court. As a result, we have no information that would mitigate the sanction for her misconduct. We hold that she violated multiple provisions of the Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct (“MLRPC”) as well as related rules and statutes and, based on those violations, disbar her.

I only hope that this attorney is not admitted in D.C. as I would hate to read a decision that imposed censure as reciprocal discipline for this misconduct. (Mike Frisch)