Opinion ID: 2325591
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gutkowski

Text: Leonard Gutkowski retained respondent on February 18, 1977 to institute and process a divorce action. The agreed fee was $850. The client paid $50 down and was to pay the balance in installments, the final installment of $150 to be paid on the day of trial. The client made four additional payments between March 24, 1977 and November 24, 1977. The aggregate amount paid was $750. Respondent prepared and filed a complaint and apparently thereafter did nothing. Respondent never answered or responded to the client's phone calls. Mr. Gutkowski wrote two letters which were not acknowledged. On one occasion he sat in front of respondent's office for three hours, hoping to speak with him. When Mr. Gutkowski finally was able to speak with respondent sometime about September, 1978, respondent said that this matter had been placed on the inactive list because of a court backlog. It was not until the hearing before the Ethics Committee that Gutkowski learned that his case had been dismissed on June 20, 1978. Respondent had been served with the Gutkowski ethics complaint on April 6, 1979. He never filed an answer.