Opinion ID: 2551984
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Count IThe Ridley Succession Matter

Text: By way of background, Theron Ridley, a resident of Minden, Louisiana, passed away on October 31, 1999. In his will, Mr. Ridley named his step-daughter Marsha Laws and his niece Brenda Ridley as the co-executrixes. In total, there were six heirs, including Ms. Laws and Ms. Ridley. Ms. Laws and Ms. Ridley were both residents of California where respondent is also licensed to practice law. In early 2000, Ms. Laws hired respondent to handle Mr. Ridley's succession. Despite his lack of competency in succession law, respondent accepted the representation. In a February 12, 2000 letter addressed to Ms. Laws, respondent stated that he would charge $300 per hour not to exceed 15% of the total value of the estate's assets. Neither Ms. Laws nor Ms. Ridley ever received this letter or agreed to this fee arrangement. When the estate's assets and liabilities were distributed, respondent claimed to have worked 171.4 hours on the succession, which at $300 per hour amounted to $51,420. In an itemization of the hours worked, respondent itemized only 73.4 hours, noting that the 171.4 hours was the total of the 73.4 itemized hours plus estimated time and charges not included in the itemization. The itemization also indicated that 28.8 hours were spent researching succession law and 9.2 hours were spent compiling the itemization. The court record of the Ridley succession also showed numerous mistakes in the pleadings respondent filed, causing delays in the sale of Mr. Ridley's house. The estate's assets totaled $89,547.46. On the distribution list, respondent indicated that his fee was $13,819.68, which was approximately 15% of the total assets. However, respondent only collected $6,909.84 in fees, noting that he had provided the estate with a gratuitous refund of 50% of his fee. As part of the distribution of the estate's assets and liabilities, on December 5, 2000, respondent issued a check payable to LSU Shreveport Hospital in the amount of $16,168.60. Thereafter, a collection agency contacted respondent, claiming the hospital had not received the payment. Respondent then negotiated a reduction of the bill to $15,000, which he paid by check dated January 22, 2001, keeping the $1,168.60 reduction for himself. When Ms. Laws and Ms. Ridley learned of the reduction, respondent agreed to refund $768.60 but kept $400 for himself. To that end, on May 20, 2001, respondent issued checks to the Ridley heirs totaling $768.60. One year later, and after Ms. Laws filed a disciplinary complaint against him, respondent refunded the remaining $400 to the heirs on May 24, 2002. In addition to the dispute over the $1,168.60, the complaint alleged the $6,909.84 fee respondent charged was excessive considering his lack of experience in succession law. The ODC alleged respondent's conduct violated the following provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct: Rules 1.1(a) (failure to provide competent representation to a client), 1.5(a) (charging an unreasonable fee), 1.15(b) (failure to timely remit funds to clients or third persons), [1] and 8.4(a) (violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct).