| ► Attorney David Crockett of Washington D.C.; ethical gremlin |
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Attorney David Crockett of Washington D.C.; ethical gremlin
The state of California provided Michael David Crockett with a law license in 2003 after he graduated from the University of California Hastings Law College in San Francisco.
The State Bar Court found David guilty of the following misconduct.
In one matter, David failed to account for a $5,000 fee paid by Nora Guajaca, who hired him to assist her with various legal issues she had with respect to her deceased mother’s trust. The elderly, retired client, who lives on a fixed income, agreed to a flat fee of $11,250, but could only afford to pay David $5,000.
Although David admits he agreed to do “a little work” on Guajaca’s matter, he said he didn’t have to provide the “final product” until she paid the full fee. Subsequently, Nora fired David. David delivered her file to her front port but did not take steps to tell her about any work he allegedly had done.
Nora said the file did not include an accounting or a refund of any unearned portion of the fees, but only induced documents she had provided to him earlier.
At a trial over David’s fee claims, he testified that Nora’s file included a detailed accounting of both his fees and the legal services he valued at $10,600. The trial judge found David’s testimony lacked credibility and noted he did not produce any corroborating evidence. In fact, the court concluded that the filed Dave delivered to Nora’s house is very strong circumstantial evidence that Dave, in fact, did not perform any legal services of value for Nora because it did not contain any of the documents that he allegedly prepared or gathered for Nora.
Judge Robert Honn ruled that David had a duty to account for Nora’s $5,000 fee and did not do so. He further found that David “expressed no remorse for his misconduct and continues to deny any wrongdoing.” Instead, Dave blames Nora for his misconduct. Dave engaged in disruptive behavior throughout the court proceeding, prolonging his case and obstructing justice. Judge Honn added that Dave’s conduct “is totally at odds with the professional standards of this state.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the supporters for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Bar Court punished David by gifting him with a complimentary120-day suspension of his law license.
As we speak (ca. April 2013) David continues to practice in the D.C. area.
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