Opinion ID: 1197887
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Jan Marie Stellmach's Testimony

Text: Stellmach testified that she worked for appellant as a legal secretary from 1987 until January 1989. She stated that she left appellant's employ because someone told me ... that he was being investigated by the Bar Association. She further stated, however, that she did not have a grudge against Mr. Drakulich. In addition to clerical duties at appellant's office, Stellmach testified that she was responsible for bookkeeping, including the maintenance of the ledger sheets. Eventually, appellant also authorized her to write and sign checks. Stellmach came to know Harold Hall as a result of his telephone calls and visits to appellant's office. Although she was unable to confirm exactly when appellant made the remark, Stellmach testified that appellant told her that Mr. Hall was at that time office manager of a group of orthopedic physicians and that he referred cases over and he in turn got a ten percent referral fee. [2] Stellmach said that she never saw any bills submitted by Hall for investigative services or asset checks, and like Skelly, Stellmach was only able to testify that she had no knowledge of Hall ever performing asset checks or investigative services for appellant. She also testified that appellant used a collection agency to perform asset checks. Stellmach identified various items of documentary evidence introduced by bar counsel, including checks made out to Hall drawn on appellant's account and ledger entries from appellant's office files. This documentary evidence related to three cases involving clients that Hall had referred to appellant's office: (1) the Griffey/Sabatini case; (2) the Colfer case; and (3) the Neff case. In the Griffey/Sabatini matter, a personal injury case, Stellmach identified a check drawn on appellant's account made payable to Hall in the amount of $616.74. The check was signed by Stellmach, and contained a notation that it was payment for investigative services. Stellmach testified that she wrote the check at appellant's direction, that appellant instructed her to make the notation investigative services on any checks made payable to Hall, and that the amount of the check was ten percent of the fee appellant earned in the case. Stellmach also identified a client ledger entry from appellant's office files verifying that the amount of the check was exactly ten percent of appellant's fees, that the check was drawn on appellant's general account, and that, unlike payments made to other investigators employed by appellant, the payment to Hall was not charged as costs to the clients in any way. In other words, as Stellmach confirmed, the payments to Hall came out of appellant's pocket and were not charged to the client. In the Colfer case, a case involving a suit against a local nightclub, Stellmach identified two checks drawn on appellant's account made payable to Hall in the total amount of $575.00. One of the checks was in the amount of $275.00 and was signed by appellant after Stellmach left appellant's employ. It contains a notation indicating that it was payment for an asset check of the nightclub involved. The other check, written to Hall in the amount of $300.00, was written and signed by Stellmach before she left appellant's office. This check contains the notation, Colfer-investigative services. Stellmach testified that appellant told her that Hall would be given a ten percent referral fee on that [the Colfer] case. Stellmach also identified a notation which she entered in the office ledger sheets corresponding to the $300.00 check. The notation states, deduct $300 from fees. Stellmach explained that the payment to Hall in the Colfer case was made prior to the final settlement in that matter because Hall had called the office some  minimum of half dozen times saying that his kids would have no Christmas if he wasn't advanced money. Stellmach further identified a check drawn on appellant's general account made payable to Hall in the amount of $500.00. The check contains the notation: legal assistance Kelly Neff. She stated that the check was written out by her, but signed by appellant. She verified from the ledger sheets that appellant's attorney's fees in the Neff case were $5,500.00.