Opinion ID: 2194268
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: matter of j.j.

Text: ¶ 8. Pursuant to the terms of the stipulation entered by the parties, Attorney Backes conceded he committed misconduct in this matter. As background, in 1994, the client, J.J., was convicted of one count of attempted first-degree murder and four counts of sexual assault. His conviction was affirmed on appeal. ¶ 9. In March 1998, J.J. contacted Attorney Backes about possible postconviction representation. He suggested he might be entitled to a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. Attorney Backes sent J.J. two letters, explaining first that he charged a flat fee, and later stating that fee would be $2500. On April 16, 1998, J.J. mailed Attorney Backes a check for $2500. There was no formal written fee agreement. ¶ 10. Attorney Backes visited J.J. in prison on June 26, 1998. At that meeting he stated that he would file a postconviction motion on J.J.'s behalf within 60 days of the meeting. ¶ 11. Despite several letters from Attorney Backes promising to take action in the near future, no pleading was ever filed on J.J.'s behalf. J.J. made several attempts to ascertain the status of the matter, including three attempts to terminate representation and obtain a refund of the retainer. ¶ 12. In May 2002, during the course of the ensuing grievance investigation, Attorney Backes did refund the full $2500 retainer to J.J. ¶ 13. The OLR alleged and Attorney Backes conceded that (1) by failing to file a postconviction motion or to conclude his review of J.J.'s file for more than 2½ years, Attorney Backes failed to act with reasonable diligence in representing J.J. in violation of SCR 20:1.3 [3] ; (2) by failing to respond to J.J.'s correspondence, Attorney Backes failed to keep J.J. reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information in violation of SCR 20:1.4(a) [4] ; (3) by failing to respond to J.J.'s specific inquiries about various postconviction relief issues, Attorney Backes failed to explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit J.J. to make informed decisions regarding the representation in violation of SCR 20:1.4(b) [5] ; and (4) by failing until May 2002, to refund the $2500 fee that J.J. had paid, Attorney Backes failed, upon termination of representation, to refund an advance payment of fees that had not been earned in violation of SCR 20:1.16(d). [6]