Opinion ID: 2283496
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: usherson complaint

Text: Respondent was retained by Dorothy C. Usherson during July 1977 to represent her with regard to a Complaint for Divorce filed by her husband as plaintiff in New York State. The respondent received a copy of the Complaint from the complainant and told her `I'll look into it' and the complainant relied upon his investigation and representation in the pending divorce action. Thereafter the complainant encountered considerable difficulty in communicating with the respondent who failed to advise her as to the status of the pending divorce action. The complainant advised respondent that she wanted to assert a Counterclaim against her husband and wanted to seek support and alimony from him. At a formal hearing before the Committee on September 3, 1980 respondent admitted that he failed to enter a defense and countersuit. Respondent claimed that he was not retained in this matter, that he simply agreed to investigate the case, and that he felt Mrs. Usherson was better off receiving AFDC benefits rather than seeking child support and alimony from the husband. The Committee determined that the respondent knowingly permitted the husband to obtain a Judgment of Divorce, failed to investigate the assets and income of the husband in order to assert a claim for support or alimony and failed to file a Counterclaim on behalf of his client, all contrary to the desires and best interests of the complainant.