More Than A Reprimand

The full Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed a single justice’s conclusion that an attorney

“systematically extracted illegal and excessive fees from numerous vulnerable and desperate clients with deceptive advertisements, misleading contractual arrangements, and deceptive and useless services such as the ‘lender benefit analysis’ and the ‘forensic loan audit.’ In addition, he engaged in unlawful fee-splitting to provide his partner and his employees with the financial incentive to use the machinations to enhance his personal financial interest at the expense of his clients.”

The attorney appealed the single justice’s order of disbarment and sought a public reprimand.

As to misconduct

Both State and Federal law prohibits a lawyer from charging advance fees for mortgage assistance relief services unless the fees are deposited into a client trust account…There was no error in the single justice’s determination that the respondent violated rule 1.5 (a). 

The full court also affirmed false advertising and fee-splitting with non-lawyer violations.

And no way to a reprimand

The repeated nature of the respondent’s misconduct, over a period of years, involving hundreds of economically, educationally, and linguistically disadvantaged clients in strained financial circumstances, evidenced by threatened foreclosure of their homes, warrants a substantial sanction…

Considering the extent of the misconduct, weighing the presence of the factors in aggravation and the absence of factors in mitigation, and giving due deference to the board’s
recommendation, we conclude there was no error in the single justice’s judgment that disbarment is warranted.