Alexandra Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I am reading a great deal about law and disbarment but I am drawing a blank on how to get my character (a defense attorney) to face some sort of inquiry or some sort of major legal headaches. Anyone want to help me with this small little writer's block? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 accused of jury tampering, bribery, lying to police, destroying evidence... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 I am reading a great deal about law and disbarment but I am drawing a blank on how to get my character (a defense attorney) to face some sort of inquiry or some sort of major legal headaches.Anyone want to help me with this small little writer's block? Chaos from mistaken identity/identity theft? Like records show criminal activity but it was someone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 (edited) --- Edited November 10, 2021 by prairiewindmomma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 It depends upon the state, but here are some of the things that could get an attorney sanctioned and/or disbarred: sex with a client/judge/jury member jury tampering withholding evidence tax evasion defaming/making false statements about your opponents obstruction of justice perjury filing frivolous lawsuits commission of a felony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Typically a complaint is made by a client to a licensing board. They investigate, it goes before a hearing panel, and then disciplinary action ensues. Occasionally the licensing board intervenes directly when an attorney is arrested and it hits the newspaper headlines by starting the complaint process themselves. Mostly, attorneys in my state are disbarred for: sleeping with a client using a client's money for their own personal expenses using drugs or alcohol excessively to the point where it affects their practice becoming depressed and missing important client deadlines and usually some combination of them all. You can generally look to a state's disciplinary board webpage and read about all of the seriously crazy things attorneys have done. Usually people who are disbarred do all of the above and go up in flames. If it's a protagonist attorney (who is really a good guy), I would say that you should have a crazy client write a complaint letter....and go from there. My favorite part of my attorney continuing education seminars is when the disciplinary administrator comes in and tells us crazy stories about what our fellow bad boy attorneys have been up to. Yikes. The bolded part is the one I was going to suggest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Sleeping with the judge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 using a client's money for their own personal expenses This is how F. Lee Bailey got disbarred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 Violating the attorney-client privilege by telling confidences of the client to another person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learningmama Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 The bar hates when lawyers don't pay child support/student loan debt/tax evasion/bankruptcy. :D Combine that with some other petty legal problems and you may be on to something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learningmama Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 (edited) Oh and lying on their bar applications, law school applications, cheating in law school, changing college transcripts, etc. All these factors can come back and haunt someone. Edited December 1, 2011 by learningmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If it's a protagonist attorney (who is really a good guy), I would say that you should have a crazy client write a complaint letter....and go from there. :iagree: If it is a hero protagonist, I would think something that the reader can identify with, have compassion for (like misguided, but good intentions.) If your protagonist is a bad guy, then any of the other serious infractions would do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandra Posted December 1, 2011 Author Share Posted December 1, 2011 :iagree: If it is a hero protagonist, I would think something that the reader can identify with, have compassion for (like misguided, but good intentions.) If your protagonist is a bad guy, then any of the other serious infractions would do. Yes! She is the heroine so she should be framed or set up or something. She can be accused of sleeping with the judge for example but she musn't be guilty of it. She's flawed but she's not a floozy or a criminal. She got into defense because her mother was a Gloria Allred type lawyer that defended floozies. And so she went the other direction to defend the common guy - or gal. Thanks to everyone for their posts and thoughts on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 If you go here: http://www.gabar.org/ethics/recent_discipline/, there are actual full examples of what some illustrious members of the Georgia bar have done to get disbarred. Click on the name, and it takes you to the full disciplinary report. It is always boring stuff, at least in Georgia--using client funds, taking a retainer and not pursuing the case, etc. Being found guilty of income tax fraud is also relatively common. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 http://www.nobc.org/caseofthemonth.aspx This is the national group for counsel for discipline. It sounds like a kinky group but there are more scenarios than you can imagine. It is incredibly easy to be disbarred or disciplined so easy that one takes a mandatory year long course and an exam before you are even allowed to sit for the bar exam. Local members ferret out the nutjob complaints and send the others forward. I wish I could tell you some of the things I have heard locally as they are doozies. The worst thing lately on a national level is forging another attorney's name as local counsel in order for you to represent clients under another jurisdiction. That did not go well for the schmuck that tried that.:lol: BTW there are many cases where attorneys who were female got sexually involved with male criminal clients. Not good. They were disbarred. Academic ability and the ability to discern a sociopath are obviously two different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 How about something in her past? What if you had her change her name/identity years ago to escape a stalker ex-boyfriend. . . and this changed identity is used on her law school and bar applications . . . Or, she could be an illegal immigrant whose parents brought her over illegally, and she never knew that she was illegal (b/c they had given her false documents, and then they died when she was in college and before she had talked about law school) until she had already taken the bar exam . . . and it didn't catch up with her until now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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