| ► Attorney Richard Manchester of Jamaica Plain, MA; ethical gremlin |
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Attorney Richard J-J Manchester of Jamaica Plain, MA; ethical gremlin
The Massachusetts Supreme Court presented Richard J-J Manchester with a law license in 1995.
The Board of Bar Overseers found Richard guilty of the following misconduct.
In one matter, Richard assisted a friend who was a mortgage holder of real property. The friend loaned money to others, but was not in the business of holding mortgages. However, he did hold a mortgage on this one piece of property. The friend asked Richard to place the property into a foreclosure auction and to attend to other legal matters relating to the property. Subsequently, the friend purchased the property at auction.
Two months later, the friend told Richard he wanted to sell the property, but it was in a state of substantial disrepair and had outstanding liens. Richard agreed to oversee renovations, obtain necessary building permits and ascertain the outstanding tax liens in order to sell the property. Richard worked on the renovations and was successful in representing his friend in two matters relating to the property.
Richard never communicated to his friend the specific terms under which he would be paid for his services, how advanced funds would be maintained and accounted for, the scope of the work that was done or an estimate of the labor and materials.
Several months later the friend visited the property and concluded that Richard had made little progress in coordinating repair of the property and that it was not ready to put on the market. The friend then fired Richard and asked that he cease working on the property. The friend then hired an attorney who conducted an investigation and then filed a civil lawsuit against Richard for breach of contract and for other civil claims.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the apologists for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Board of Overseers punished Richard by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.
As we speak (January 2013) Richard practices with the Law Office of Richard J-J Manchester LLC at 71 South Street in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
Warning: Richard does not carry legal malpractice insurance
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