Opinion ID: 1108320
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Maize Matter

Text: In March 2001, Beverly Maize hired respondent to represent her husband, Oliver, in a post-conviction matter. Beverly paid respondent a flat fee of $1,500. On March 27, 2001, respondent wrote to Oliver, stating that he had been retained by his family to represent you in your application for post conviction relief. Respondent met with Oliver in prison on one occasion and met with Beverly and Oliver's mother, Delores Brown, on one occasion. However, he failed to do anything substantive in furtherance of the representation. He met with Beverly and Delores in October 2002 and indicated he was ready to go to court. Since that time, they have been unable to communicate with him. According to Beverly, respondent failed to return numerous phone calls and cancelled several appointments. In September 2004, after failing to file the application for post conviction relief, respondent claimed that the $1,500 fee was only for the purpose of reviewing the file to determine if there was a possible constitutional challenge. He offered to refund $750 to the Maizes to resolve the matter, but they refused his offer.