The lead two stories in the on-line ABA Journal for Sept. 12 show what can sometimes happen to lawyers who overbill their clients. The lead story was about a partner in a Chicago area law firm who was sentenced to 6 years in prison for billing work that the lawyer did not do. The other story was about two public defenders (in unrelated cases) in West Virginia who face federal wire fraud charges for billing time for work that they did not do.
In my professional responsibility law practice, I regularly counsel attorneys that there are three things that can get a lawyer into serious trouble with the disciplinary authorities: doing drugs, having sex with a client, or messing with a client’s money. Thus, it truly escapes me why attorneys take such chances with their careers and, in some cases, their freedom. Continue reading