Attorney Edwin Hardy of Washington, NC; ethical ogre

The state of North Carolina presented Edwin M. Hardy with a law license in 1989 after he graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

The Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar found Eddie guilty of the following misconduct

• Misconduct involved multiple offenses
• Engaged in a pattern of misconduct
• Failed to conduct monthly and quarterly reconciliations of his attorney trust account
• Failed to maintain ledgers for each client for whom funds were received in the trust account
• Failed to accurately indicate the deposit date on client ledgers
• Failed to provide written accountings to clients with funds in the trust account for more than twelve months
• Failed to provide the requisite NSF notice to the bank at which he maintained his attorney trust account
• Failed to follow appropriate trust account recordkeeping procedures
• Failed to keep sufficient account maintenance funds in the trust account to cover bank charges withdrawn from the trust account
• Failed to properly maintain entrusted funds
• Allowed entrusted funds to be disbursed in a manner not authorized by or for the benefit of his client
• Eddie’s committed acts where harm or potential harm to client was foreseeable
• Failed to take corrective action to ensure proper maintenance of and accounting for entrusted funds
• Conduct had potential negative impact on legal profession and the public’s perception of the legal profession

As a direct consequence of his misconduct the cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar punished Eddie gifting him with a complimentary stayed 2-year suspension of his law license.

In truth, the comedians sitting on the North Carolina State Bar didn’t mete out any meaningful punishment to Eddie.

As we speak (ca. November 2020) Eddie practices his brand of law at 2011 West 15^th Street in Washington, North Carolina.