Opinion ID: 1926090
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: client l.c.counts 14-16

Text: [7] ¶ 36. The OLR complaint alleged that in late summer of 2000 L.C. hired Cavendish-Sosinski to represent him after a bench warrant for L.C.'s arrest had been issued. Cavendish-Sosinski thereafter sent L.C. a retainer agreement and obtained from him payment of an additional $750 fee telling L.C. that she would attempt to quash the warrant. However, Cavendish-Sosinski thereafter took no action in the L.C. matter. ¶ 37. L.C. attempted to contact her on several occasions to learn the status of his case but was unsuccessful. Cavendish-Sosinski did not speak with L.C. until March of 2001. L.C. wrote to her in April and June 2001 informing her that the continued existence of the bench warrant was interfering with his livelihood as an over-the-road trucker, and with his plans to marry and have his new wife join him in the trucking business. ¶ 38. L.C. subsequently filed a grievance against Cavendish-Sosinski with the OLR in January of 2002; he later submitted written materials substantiating his allegations against Cavendish-Sosinski. ¶ 39. Thereafter, Cavendish-Sosinski failed to respond to two OLR requests for information concerning L.C.'s grievance. Finally, she acknowledged that she had done no work on the L.C. matter and attributed that failure to her depression. The respondent thereafter refunded L.C. the $750 fee he had paid her. ¶ 40. Based on this course of conduct, the referee concluded that the respondent had committed the violations as alleged in Counts 14, 15, and 16 of the OLR complaint. Specifically, the referee concluded that Cavendish-Sosinski had failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client, in violation of SCR 20:1.3; had failed to promptly respond to reasonable requests for information and to keep her client informed about the status of the matter, in violation of SCR 20:1.4(a); and had failed to cooperate with an OLR investigation, in violation of SCR 22.03(2).