Opinion ID: 2677168
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: s ummary of f acts

Text: We begin our review with a summary of the evidence presented to the Panel and reviewed by the Trial Court. On May 14, 2003, Mr. Ralph was incarcerated in the Warren County jail after being convicted of three misdemeanors and sentenced to serve time in jail. On May 19, 2003, Mr. Ralph’s brother, David Ferrell, contacted Mr. Long and asked him to represent Mr. Ralph. On May 20, 2003, Mr. Long and his assistant, Theresa Eatherly, drove to McMinnville to meet Mr. Ferrell. Mr. Long and Mr. Ferrell met in front of the Warren County courthouse, where Mr. Ferrell paid Mr. Long $7500 in cash. Mr. Long handwrote a fee agreement, which stated only the following: Deposit of 7,500 escrow account Draw out as earned 200/hour After Mr. Long and Mr. Ferrell signed the agreement, Mr. Long met with the trial judge and the assistant district attorney general. After the conference, the trial judge set an appeal bond for Mr. Ralph’s release. Mr. Long left the courthouse and met Mr. Ferrell in the parking lot. Mr. Ferrell was pleased that Mr. Long had been successful in securing an appeal bond. As to the status of Mr. Long’s attorney fee, Mr. Long testified that he asked Mr. Ferrell if he agreed that Mr. Long had earned the $7500 fee and that Mr. Ferrell answered: “Yes, sir, I would agree with that.” Mr. Long further testified that Mr. Ferrell said it was “okay with him” if Mr. Long treated the $7500 as an earned fee. Mr. Ferrell denied that he ever agreed to modify the written fee agreement, and he testified that he expected Mr. Long would deposit the $7500 into his trust account and draw it out at a rate of $200 per hour. While driving back to Nashville, Mr. Long expressed concern to Ms. Eatherly that he had not “g[otten] a piece of paper back,” but told her that “Mr. Ferrell would lose it in a few days anyways.” Mr. Long did not deposit the $7500 fee into his trust account. -3- Following Mr. Ralph’s release from jail, Mr. Long filed a motion for a new trial and also agreed to represent Mr. Ralph in a second criminal case. For Mr. Ralph’s second criminal case, Mr. Ferrell testified that he paid $5700 to attorney Greg Clayton2 and $300 to Mr. Long. Mr. Long testified that he did not charge any additional fees to represent Mr. Ralph in the second case. Mr. Clayton and Mr. Long tried Mr. Ralph’s case before a jury, and Mr. Ralph was convicted. Following the conviction, Mr. Ralph and Mr. Ferrell met with Mr. Long and Mr. Clayton and terminated their services. Mr. Ferrell asked Mr. Long to provide an accounting of the attorney’s fees charged and to refund any fees that were unearned. Mr. Long did not provide an accounting and did not refund any fees.3