Opinion ID: 1921960
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Post-Will Advice to J.C. and E.Y.

Text: 35. In late 1987 and in the months following, Respondent provided advice to J.C. concerning amendments to his 1984 property settlement agreement with L. F-C. as well as advice in their divorce proceeding. While Respondent did not enter an appearance as counsel of record, she received copies of pleadings and correspondence and played an active role in advising J.C. Tr. 206, 229-30, 265; BX 19. 36. February 1988, Respondent received correspondence on behalf of J.C. from Armin Kuder, the attorney representing L.F-C., which related to their divorce. BX 16 at 9-14. 37. Respondent reviewed J.C.'s second complaint for divorce in March 1988 (after his previously filed complaint had been dismissed) and discussed it with Mr. Liotta, J.C.'s counsel of record. When the complaint needed revision, Respondent had personnel in her office retype it. J.C. executed the retyped complaint and had it notarized in Respondent's office. Tr. 261-64; BX 19 at 2-3; BX 20. 38. Respondent had periodic contact with J.C. in 1989 and 1990. In May 1991, Respondent was advised that J.C. and E.Y. had become parents of a second child. Respondent was aware that J.C. was still not divorced from L. F-C., but did not advise E.Y. of this fact. Tr. 265-66. 39. In the summer of 1991, Respondent acted as counsel for J.C. in responding to demands for separation payments from L.F-C.'s attorney, Armin Kuder. In response to a request by J.C., Respondent sent a letter to Mr. Kuder requesting that he address all future correspondence with regard to J.C. to her. Tr. 266-67; BX 16 at 1-4. 40. In 1990 and 1991, J.C. began borrowing money from various banks without E.Y.'s knowledge. In 1992, E.Y. became aware that J.C. had not been paying all their bills. She also learned that he had borrowed money from Riggs Bank and from his father. She became concerned about these loans and other financial irregularities. Tr. 55, 58-62. 41. In mid-1992, Respondent was approached by Armin Kuder to carry a message to J.C.: the message was that L.F-C., who was still married to J.C., was pregnant by him and that he needed to pay additional amounts of money to cover costs associated with this child. Respondent refused to convey this message to J.C., but eventually provided this information to J.C.'s sister. Tr. 213-14, 217; BX 2, Chron. at 5-6. 42. In late August 1992, J.C. did not come home from work. He made some odd phone calls to E.Y. and was in an agitated mental state. Tr. 60-61. E.Y. called Respondent, wanting to know if she had heard from J.C. and relating that he might be suicidal. Tr. 63; 201-02. Respondent later learned that J.C. had gone to Charlotte, North Carolina where his father and other family members resided. Id. 43. Shortly thereafter, E.Y. began to receive notices from the District of Columbia Superior Court concerning an action filed by Credit International Bank against J.C. to recover on a delinquent loan. Tr. 61-62; BX 6 at 5. E.Y. called Respondent to seek legal advice. Respondent agreed to look into these matters and try to resolve them. Tr. 61-64. 44. During this same time period, Respondent was in contact with J.C.'s father and sister, both of whom are lawyers. They advised Respondent that J.C. was in an agitated mental state and that they were trying to arrange treatment for him. They further advised Respondent that J.C. may have incurred significant debts with several Washington area banks which, once identified, would be brought current by J.C.'s father. The family provided Respondent with some information about these bank debts so she could assist in arranging payment. Tr. 203-05. 45. E.Y. called Respondent about a certified letter from Riggs Bank concerning a loan made to J.C. and herself. Tr. 62. E.Y. was concerned because the letter was addressed to her as well as J.C. and she wanted to know if she was personally liable. E.Y. told Respondent that she had never taken a loan from Riggs Bank. Tr. 67-68, 125-26. 46. By this time, Respondent was a partner at Reid & Priest. She began to conduct inquiries into the various bank loans and made arrangements to bring the loans current. In September and October 1992, Respondent, in her capacity as an attorney, resolved the cases filed against J.C. by the Credit International Bank and The Washington Bank by arranging payments from J.C.'s father. BX 10 at 3-10; BX 11 at 1-4. 47. Respondent called James Corrigan of Riggs Bank in September 1992 and asked him to provide the details of the Riggs loan. Mr. Corrigan advised that the note was significantly in arrears and the bank was about to file a court action. Mr. Corrigan advised her that the only asset the bank could find to levy on was the family's house and that the bank was reluctant to do that unless there was no alternative. Tr. 209, 281-82; BX 12. 48. Respondent asked for and received a copy of the note from Riggs, and provided a copy of it to E.Y. The Riggs documents showed a $25,000 loan to J.P. and E.Y. Riggs Bank internal records stated that it was contacted by their (J.C. and E.Y.'s) attorney concerning the overdue loan. BX 12 at 1. 49. After Respondent provided E.Y. with a copy of the Riggs note, E.Y. reiterated that she did not take the loan at Riggs and that someone had forged her signature. When E.Y. stated that she intended to report the forgery, Respondent advised her that such a course of action could prove harmful because she and her children were financially dependent on J.C.'s ability to earn a living and that his ability to work as an investment banker would be seriously impaired by any allegation of bank fraud. Tr. 210-11; BX 2, Chron. at 7-8. Respondent further advised that because the funds had been borrowed fraudulently, the bank could call the loan, foreclose on the family's house, and even come after E.Y. personally. Tr. 68-69, 126-28; Tr. 210-11, 282-85; BX 1; BX 3. 50. E.Y. considered Respondent to be her lawyer with respect to the Riggs loan and the other financial matters they discussed and Respondent never advised E.Y. that she was not acting as her lawyer. Respondent was active in helping to bring these debts current or pay them off. E.Y. was still of the belief that she was married to J.C. and her concerns stemmed from this fact. Respondent did not advise her that she was not legally married to J.C. or that L. F-C. was still J.C.'s lawful wife. Tr. 69-70; 73-74; 124-125; Tr. 282-83. 51. Respondent requested that E.Y. provide her with copies of tax returns for E.Y. and J.C. so she could review them. E.Y. provided the tax returns to Respondent as requested; Respondent later advised her that they were in order. Tr. 73-75. 52. Respondent also asked E.Y. to obtain a credit report for J.C. to determine if there were any other outstanding debts or obligations that had not yet been discovered. Respondent explained to E.Y. how to obtain the credit report and provided the telephone number of one of the credit agencies. Tr. 73-74; Tr. 285-86. After E.Y. received the credit report, she called Respondent to discuss what she believed were inaccuracies, including that L.F-C. was still listed as J.C.'s spouse and that certain accounts listed were not those of J.C. Tr. 73-74, 76-77, 129-31. Respondent advised E.Y. to leave that alone. Tr. 76-77. 53. On April 6, 1993, a daughter was born to L.F-C. and J.C. BX 13 at 5. 54. By May 1993, the relationship between E.Y. and J.C. had deteriorated further, E.Y., who had followed J.C. to North Carolina with their children, called Respondent for a referral to a lawyer in North Carolina because she wanted to leave that state with her children, against J.C.'s wishes. When Respondent called back with the names of lawyers who might be able to help, E.Y. asked Respondent directly about the relationship between J.C. and L.F-C. Respondent then advised E.Y. for the first time that J.C. had lied to her about his marital status when he married her and that she was not lawfully married to J.C. Tr. 79-80, 83, 105-06, 218-19. 55. By June 1, 1993, a few days after learning that her marriage was invalid, E.Y. retained John Gresham, Esquire, to represent her in separating her interests from J.C.'s, to establish her custody of their children, and to seek financial support. Tr. 80-81. 56. In August 1993, when the Riggs loan was again in default, Riggs called Respondent. When Respondent called E.Y. to advise her of this fact, E.Y. stated that the Riggs loan was J.C.'s responsibility. Respondent then wrote to E.Y., on Respondent's law firm letterhead, repeating that the loan was overdue. Respondent wrote that she wanted to be sure that E.Y. was fully aware that because both her name and J.C.'s name were on the loan, her joint assets [were] subject to the loan. BX 4 at 2; Tr. 219-220. 57. On November 28, 1994, a Judgment of Absolute Divorce was issued to J.C. and L. F-C. BX 13. 58. In December 1994, E.Y. and J.C. retained Lucius Bracey, Esquire, to counsel them concerning estate planning matters. J.C. and E.Y. were attempting to reconcile. Mr. Bracey obtained their written consent to the representation of both of them and emphasized that what was told to him by one party would be shared with the other party. In June 1995, E.Y. and J.C. executed new wills that had been drafted by Mr. Bracey. While J.C. was not disinherited in E.Y.'s new will, his rights in her estate were substantially less than in the will drafted by Respondent. Tr. 89-91, 134, 136, 152; compare BX 4 at 15 with BX 17. 59. As the result of executing new wills, Mr. Bracey advised that all previous wills be collected and destroyed. E.Y. requested Ginsburg, Feldman & Bress produce the wills for her and J.C. that had been drafted by Respondent. In response to this request, Ginsburg, Feldman & Bress turned over all the documents relating to J.C. and E.Y., including their wills, the fraudulent marriage license application, and their marriage certificate. E.Y. learned at that point for the first time that her will was not identical to J.C.'s and further that J.C. had provided the fraudulent marriage license application to Respondent. Tr. 31, 138; BX 18. 60. In February 1996, E.Y. filed an ethical complaint against Respondent with Bar Counsel. BX 1.