342.772 Hours

The North Carolina State Bar has filed a complaint alleging that an attorney had drafted a will for a client that, among other things, appointed himself as personal representative with a broad grant of discretionary authority.

The client died in May 2015.

Over the next two years, he paid himself $257,041.50 for 342.722 hours of work at $750 per hour. He paid himself from estate funds without court approval.

The complaint alleges that he falsely asserted to the Superior Court and the State Bar that $750 per hour was his standard rate.

He also is alleged to have charged the estate for non-legal services such as meeting with a locksmith and returning  a modem to Time Warner cable. (Mike Frisch)