► Attorney Michael Murphy of Milton, MA; cheating loser

The state of Massachusetts presented Michael A. Murphy with a law license in 1981 after he graduated from Suffolk University Law School.

The Board of Bar Overseers found Mike of the following misconduct.

• Charged a clearly excessive fee (cheater)
• Engaged in conduct involving fraud, deceit, dishonest or misrepresentation

In one matter, Mike represented a client who was a defendant in a products liability action. The fee agreement called for an hourly rate for time spent working on the client’s case. Mike agreed to submit monthly invoices to the client for his billable hours.

Mike’s agreement with his firm was that he was paid a salary plus additional compensation based on the time he billed and collected from clients.

Over the next six months, Mike billed the client for 600 hours of work. Mike knowingly spent more time than necessary on the billed work in order to increase his billable hours at the firm. For example, although the case was in its early stages, Mike billed time for almost every day over a six-month period of time. Mike also billed for tasks that should have been delegated in whole or in part to a lawyer of lesser seniority and billing rate at the firm. Mike also billed for tasks that were duplicated and billed by other attorneys at the firm.

In short, Mike found it acceptable to overcharge his clients by billing for time he never spent working on their behalf.

As a consequence of his misconduct, the cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Board of Overseers punished Mike by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.

As we speak (ca. January 2014) Mike practices at 186 Highland Street in Milton, Massachusetts.

Warning: Mike does not carry legal malpractice insurance