Opinion ID: 1530578
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Complaint of Gorman Murphy

Text: Mr. Gorman Murphy was not present at the hearings before this Court. Neither were Ms. Rosaleen Brewer or Ms. Pauleen Williams. However, both women testified before the Inquiry Panel in April and May, 1995. Mr. Murphy never testified. The facts related to this Complaint were established as follows. Mr. Murphy and his two sisters, Ms. Brewer and Ms. Williams, went to Mr. Milliken's office for his assistance in preparing a deed that would convey Mr. Murphy's property to his grandsons. Although Mr. Murphy said very little during the meeting because of his ill health, it was agreed that the Respondent would prepare both a will and a deed. The will was to be sent to Mr. Murphy's house and the deed was to be delivered to the sisters' house. The Respondent testified that he fully explained to the sisters the necessary steps to execute the will and the deed properly, and how to take the deed to the land records office and have it recorded and pay the necessary property tax. Mr. Milliken stated that the sisters were unhappy with the completed deed because they wanted the house to be deeded to them and apparently decided that if the property was not deeded to them, they did not want the work done. Mr. Milliken testified that he told the sisters he could not do as they wished because it was contrary to the wishes of his client, Mr. Murphy, who was allegedly satisfied with the work. At the hearing, Bar Counsel introduced a copy of a letter to Mr. Milliken signed by Mr. Murphy, Ms. Brewer, and Ms. Williams. The letter, dated August 1, 1993, indicated that they expected Mr. Milliken to record the deed and send it back to them and, if this was not possible, they expected the return of their money. At that time, the Respondent had not contacted the Complainants for approximately one year since their first meeting. Ms. Brewer and Ms. Williams were unable to contact the Respondent. He never recorded the deed and they never received a refund. The Respondent maintained that he did everything they requested of him and more because he gave them a will in addition to the deed. Mr. Milliken was unable to support his contentions as he produced no documents to support his position. Instead, he claims that all relevant documents were destroyed in the alleged office fires. In light of the facts established by clear and convincing evidence at the hearing, this Court concludes that Mr. Milliken violated Maryland Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a), (b), and 8.1(b). His failure to record the deed or provide adequate instructions for the Complainants, his dereliction in failing to contact his clients either before or after they wrote him the letter, and his nonexistent documentation of work allegedly performed demonstrate that he acted incompetently and without diligence. Further, he did not keep his client reasonably informed about the status of his legal matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information ... or explain [the] matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation. In addition, as admitted by the Respondent in Exhibit 2, it is clear that he violated Maryland Rule 8.1 by failing to respond to a lawful demand for information, in that he refused to answer letters from Bar Counsel regarding the Complaint of Gorman Murphy.