Opinion ID: 2454436
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ethical inquiry

Text: Mr. Callahan further argues that the trial court erred in allowing Ms. Clark's counsel to taint the proceedings below with unfairly prejudicial evidence of a supposed ethical violation. Ms. Clark called Mr. Callahan as her first witness, and he was questioned about a letter that he had written to her in April of 1989, in which he set a minimum fee of $2500, and stated that her divorce would not be finalized until her account with his firm was paid in full. When counsel for Ms. Clark inquired as to whether this was a proper fee arrangement, Mr. Callahan replied that There's some disagreement about that, stating that, There is an ethical opinion that says that if your client cannot pay you, that you must continue to represent her and to see that her rights are protected regardless of whether you are paid or not. After Mr. Callahan offered further testimony regarding his fees, counsel for Mr. Callahan made a relevancy objection, which the trial court overruled. Thereafter, the trial court admitted into evidence, over Mr. Callahan's relevancy objection, legal bills that Mr. Callahan had sent Ms. Clark, finding that the bills could be used to attack Mr. Callahan's credibility. During cross-examination of Mr. Callahan's expert, Phillip Dixon, Ms. Clark was allowed to question him, over Mr. Callahan's objection, regarding his opinion as to whether Mr. Callahan's fee arrangement was ethical. Finally, during closing argument, counsel for Ms. Clark stated as follows: Mr. Dixon ... told you that the first thing [Mr. Callahan] did was unethical. He wrote a fee agreement that said, We are not going to enter a divorce decree until you have paid all of our fee. Under our rules of ethics, as Mr. Dixon told you that is an unethical thing for a lawyer to do. The very first thing he did in this case, writing the fee agreement, was unethical and had to do with money. We need not explore this issue further, as Mr. Callahan did not make a contemporaneous objection to the admission of this testimony; instead, he allowed counsel for Ms. Clark to ask some 17 additional questions before registering an objection with the trial court. A contemporaneous objection is necessary in order to preserve an issue for appellate review. Johnson v. State, 308 Ark. 7, 823 S.W.2d 800 (1992). As Mr. Callahan had offered similar testimony, Mr. Dixon's testimony on this issue was merely cumulative. We will not find prejudicial error where the evidence erroneously admitted was merely cumulative. Williams v. Southwestern Bell, 319 Ark. 626, 893 S.W.2d 770 (1995). Thus, the admission of Mr. Dixon's testimony was harmless error. As to comments made by Ms. Clark's counsel during closing argument, we find no objection made by Mr. Callahan in the abstract or in the record. Under these circumstances, Mr. Callahan's argument is without merit.