► Attorney David Wattel of Chandler, AZ; ethical gremlin |
Attorney David Wattel of Chandler, AZ; ethical gremlin The state of The Arizona State Bar found Dave guilty of the following misconduct.
In one matter, Dave a client in a personal injury matter under a contingency fee agreement. The client was awarded $15,000 in arbitration but Dave’s costs exceeded $21,000, not including attorney’s fees or medical liens. Dave laughingly claimed that he advised the client that the medical liens had been forgiven and he agreed to waive his fee leaving the client liable for the remaining unpaid costs. Without ever obtaining the client’s authorization, Dave endorsed the $15,000 settlement check and deposited it into his trust account and used it to pay the costs he allegedly incurred. As one would suspect, this wasn’t Dave’s First bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree. He previously received a complimentary reprimand for engaging in a variety of misconduct. As a consequence of his misconduct, the Patron Saints for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Arizona Supreme Court punished Dave by gifting him with another complimentary censure. As we speak (ca. August 2014) Dave practices with Wattel & York LLC at
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