Legal Ethics
Sanctioned! Attorney With LA Firm Fined $102K—Plus 200 Pro Bono Hours
Posted Apr 6, 2009 3:09 PM CST
By Martha Neil
A federal magistrate judge in Nevada has not only fined an attorney formerly with a Los Angeles-based firm $102,205, but in a perhaps-unprecedented penalty is requiring her to perform 200 hours of pro bono work. The penalties are part of a group of sanctions against Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor and one present and one past lawyer there, in what the court's opinion describes as a trade secrets case "suffused with bad faith."
Hit hardest was ex-Liner Grode lawyer Deborah Klar, who received both the six-figure fine and the heftiest pro bono penalty, reports the Recorder. Magistrate Judge Valerie Cooke of Nevada District Court also fined the firm and a lawyer who still works there, Teri Pham, $20,000 and $20, 441, respectively, and Pham was ordered to perform 100 hours of pro bono work. (The client, an individual inventor and software developer in litigation with a former business partner, was sanctioned, too.)
The sanctions stem from what Cooke describes, in a 54-page ruling, as conduct by the firm and both attorneys that was "willfully reckless, intended to harass, done for an improper purpose, and was suffused with bad faith," the legal publication recounts. Specifically, Cooke contends, the two lawyers, in an effort to make it impossible for the client's former attorney to collect alleged unpaid legal fees, sought to remove the case from her court's jurisdiction and make it too expensive for the former attorney to pursue them.
The order is stayed until Friday to give the parties a chance to contest it.
Stuart Liner, the law firm's managing partner, is "extremely disappointed and surprised" by the judge's decision and says Liner Grode will object.
Klar declined to comment when contacted by the Recorder, and Pham did not return a phone call Friday from the legal publication.
California attorney Jerome Fishkin, who specializes in legal ethics, says he has never before seen a judge use pro bono work as a sanction, the Recorder reports. Cooke's opinion calls for the two sanctioned lawyers to present a pro bono plan before they begin work.
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Comments
Tanner Andrews
Apr 6, 2009 4:37 PM CST
I cannot view mandatory ``pro bono’’ as a proper sanction. Lawyers ought to perform such service, but it is by its nature voluntary. Lawyers who do it benefit their community; there are many lawyers who just do not care.
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Nicolas Patrick, Pro Bono Director, DLA Phillips F
Apr 6, 2009 11:07 PM CST
The ordering of pro bono hours as a penalty is an unfortunate development. As a profession, we should, and we do participate in pro bono out of a sense of professional responsibility to contribute to the administration of justice, and improve access to justice. The motives for participation in pro bono are important. Consider the issue from the perspective of a client: Would the client rather be represented by a pro bono lawyer who is acting for you from a sense of compassion, justice and professional responsibility, or would the client prefer the lawyer who is begrudgingly fulfilling a court-ordered pro bono quota? In my experience pro bono has always been a rewarding endeavour. I think the imposition of pro bono hours as a sanction sends the wrong message about pro bono. As we face increasingly difficult economic times and increasing legal need in the community it is important that professional and institutional support for pro bono remains strong, as such it is important that discourse is strategically deployed.
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Heidi O
Apr 7, 2009 9:26 AM CST
Perhaps we should call it “community service tailored to take advantage of your skills and experience.” Community service is a common enough sanction in the criminal context. It is true that pro bono work is a rewarding experience that is ideally performed from a sense of willingness and/or duty. I frequently hear of community service being a transformative experience for those who participate. Perhaps these sanctioned lawyers will find the same reward when working purely for the benefit of others. Perhaps not. But it’s worth a try.
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Michael
Apr 7, 2009 10:49 AM CST
I had opposing counsel ordered to do pro bono work once as a sanction. She was a kid who go too zealous and when she lost an especially egregious motion began to tear up when she realized how annoyed the judge was. I suggested 20 hours at legal aid might be an alternative sanction under the assumption she didn’t have much savings; she quickly agreed and the judge signed the order. She behaved better.
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Chris P
Apr 7, 2009 11:09 AM CST
“Consider the issue from the perspective of a client: Would the client rather be represented by a pro bono lawyer who is acting for you from a sense of compassion, justice and professional responsibility, or would the client prefer the lawyer who is begrudgingly fulfilling a court-ordered pro bono quota?”
—There are astronomically more pro bono needs than there are pro bono lawyers to fill those needs. A pro bono client likely won’t care about the motive; the client will simply be thankful to have a lawyer.
I agree with Heidi—community services is a common sanction and yet people still serve the community altruistically. I do not believe that the judge’s sanction will have any negative affect on pro bono service at all.
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Pro Bono is good for the soul
Apr 7, 2009 5:11 PM CST
Over three decades ago, I worked twice with attorneys and once without on three criminal appeals appeals. All three ended in favor of the defendants.
The feelings from pro bono work are priceless. They cannot be forced nor forbidden, nor taxed. They do not rust, need no storage or insurance, and they do not go away.
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