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Attorney Grievance Commission v. Zuckerman4/13/2005
s. An examination of Petitioner's Exhibit 6 from his deposition, the computer run from Ms Elkin's work dated August 18,2004, shows that he was paying off medical providers and clients several years after the cases were settled. For example, respondent received the money from Jamel Charmichael's settlement on October 27, 1999 and respondent paid Mr. Charmichael's medical bills on June 26, 2003. Clearly he did not promptly deliver to the clients or medical providers the funds they were due. It is also inferable that he let these matters sit as he handled new cases and did not advise anyone that he held their funds. It is apparent that prior to Ms. Becker's theft of the funds that there had been no activity in these files for several years. If they had been reviewed more frequently and promptly, they would have been closed out with payments made to providers.
"In AGC v. Stolarz, 842 A.2d 43 (2004), the Court of Appeals held that an attorney who failed to pay off a client's debt from personal injury settlement funds in violation of a written assignment in favor of the lender and who failed to notify the lender of his receipt of the settlement check violated Rule 1.15(b) even though he had made an innocent mistake and did not personally profit from the mistake. In this case, respondent made a practice of violating both the prompt notification and prompt delivery requirements of the Rule. Respondent had paid a client or a medical provider in 155 client files as a result of his file review after Ms. Becker's theft. This means that, at the time of the theft, respondent had 155 cases in which he had not promptly disbursed funds to either clients or medical providers in violation of Rule 1.15(b).
"Respondent's failure to pay clients and medical providers promptly is also a violation of Rules 1.1 (Competence), 1.3 Diligence), and 1.4(a) (Communication). Respondent's repeated failures to pay medical providers and clients for periods of years demonstrates a lack of organization and competence to complete all the tasks necessary to protect his clients' interests, namely, payment of all medical bills and the disbursement of all amounts due the client. Respondent's failure to pursue the payment of the medical bills and the disbursement of client funds for a period of years clearly demonstrates a lack of reasonable diligence. Respondent's failure to advise his clients that he had not paid their medical bills or was holding funds for them violates the requirement of Rule 1.4 (a) that he keep a client reasonably informed about the status of the client's matter.
IV. Rules 1.15 (a) and 16-607 (Commingling Funds)
A. Findings of Fact
"In the case of Kristina Mason and Tyrell Wilson, respondent received a $500.00 settlement check on May 3, 1999 and did not remove his $200.00 fee until February 1, 2004. In the case of Monica Flight, respondent received a settlement check of $3,629.00 on February 28, 2001 and did not pay himself a fee of $1,175.00 plus expenses of $25.00 until February 11, 2004. Petitioner's Exhibit 8. In the case of Alfred Fincher, respondent received a settlement check on May 7, 2001 and did not take his fee until June 22, 2004. Petitioner's Exhibit 8.
B. Conclusion of Law: Respondent Violated Rules 1.15 (a) and BOP § 16-607
"By failing to remove funds promptly from his trust account, respondent violated both the requirement of Rule 1.15(a) that a client's property be kept separate from the lawyer's property and the requirement of BOP §16-607(b)(2) that attorney's funds be withdrawn promptly when the attorney becomes entitled to them. In some cases the respondent did not remove his fee from the account for years after it was earned. T
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