Opinion ID: 1194860
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Huntley

Text: On February 3, 1996, Louise Huntley hired the respondent to handle an employment related disability claim against her employer and to defend against the employer's efforts to force her to return to work before she reached maximum recovery. She paid the respondent a $1,500 advance fee that she anticipated he would draw upon as he performed the work. The respondent claims that he did not agree to handle Huntley's disability claim and that the $1,500 was compensation for a preliminary review of her file, assistance with a complaint Huntley had herself filed with the EEOC, and for referring her to other counsel. There was no fee agreement regarding the respondent's representation or any documentation with respect to a referral fee. The respondent told Huntley that he planned to have another lawyer handle the pretrial preparation of the case and he would handle the trial itself. The respondent never told her how to contact this other lawyer, however, and he failed to notify her employer of his or anyone else's representation of Huntley. In December 1995, Huntley was examined by a company physician who pronounced her fit and able to return to work. To the contrary, her own doctor concluded that she was totally disabled. Because of the divergence between these expert medical opinions, Huntley's employer required her to submit to further medical evaluations. She told the respondent that she was too weak to attend one of these evaluations, but the respondent failed to notify her employer to delay or reschedule the appointment. He also failed to contact either Huntley or her doctor for medical documentation substantiating the disability claim. In March 1996, Huntley's employer sent her letters regarding independent medical examinations, and on March 26 told her that if she did not return to work by April 15, 1996, she would be terminated. During this time, Huntley's efforts to contact the respondent were unsuccessful. When she went to his office to confront him, the respondent told her that he had not been able to find another lawyer to handle the pretrial matters, but that he was still trying. He never did find another lawyer or provide any benefit to his client in any way. Huntley's employer fired her on April 15, 1996, and denied her disability claim due to her failure to comply with the employer's procedures regarding such claims. She had sixty days to appeal the denial, and finally met the respondent at a restaurant where he wrote out an appeal for her to type and submit to her employer. The appeal was filed on July 12, 1996 outside the sixty day timeframe. It was denied on January 29, 1997, again for her failure to comply with the employer's procedural requirements. Afterwards, the respondent did not reply to Huntley's demands for a refund of the $1,500 advance fee, and he has no records documenting any work performed for her. He continues to contend that the $1,500 was a referral fee, which he earned. The hearing board found that the respondent charged $1,500 for a minimal amount of legal work from which Huntley received no benefit. The foregoing conduct violated Colo. RPC 1.1 (failing to provide competent representation to a client); Colo. RPC 1.3 (neglecting a legal matter); Colo. RPC 1.4(a) (failing to communicate appropriately with a client); Colo. RPC 1.5(a) (charging an unreasonable fee); Colo. RPC 1.5(b) (failing to explain the basis or rate of the fee); Colo. RPC 1.5(e) (charging a referral fee which is prohibited); and Colo. RPC 8.4(c) (engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation).