Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Williams

4 Citing cases

  1. Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Md. v. Dailey

    467 Md. 563 (Md. 2020)

    ed personal loans from "former" clients. In such cases, courts have held that attorney-client relationships persisted (1) if the transactions are "the result of overreaching or manipulation of the former relationship," In re Riccio , 75 A.D.2d 687, 426 N.Y.S.2d 887, 888 (1980), or, stated differently, (2) "if the circumstances are such that the former client reasonably expects the lawyer to exercise professional judgment therein for the protection of the [former] client," In re Ioannou , 89 A.D.3d 245, 250, 932 N.Y.S.2d 52 (2011) (internal quotation omitted) (alteration in original); see also In re Imming , 131 Ill.2d 239, 137 Ill.Dec. 62, 545 N.E.2d 715, 721 (1989) (regarding loans from "former" clients for an attorney's non-legal business, holding that they "occurred so close in time to the respondent's legal services to each client as to cause the client to believe that the respondent's business relations were a continuation of the attorney-client relationship ") (emphasis added); La. St. Bar Ass'n v. Williams , 498 So.2d 727, 728 (La. 1986) ("A lawyer may not enter into a business transaction with a client if they have differing interests therein and if the client expects the lawyer to exercise his professional judgment on that matter for the protection of the client [.]") (emphasis added); Law. Disciplinary Bd. v. Battistelli , 206 W.Va. 197, 523 S.E.2d 257, 263 (1999) (noting that the "former" client "still considered the Respondent his attorney and felt obligated to give the Respondent the requested loan since the Respondent had assisted him in obtaining a favorable result" in his case). To determine if a financial transaction resulted from an overreaching or manipulation of the attorney-client relationship, courts have considered factors such as (a) the proximity in time between the last attorney-client interaction and the first conversation about the financial transaction at issue, (b) the location of the conversation (e.g. , in the attorney's office, "amidst the trappings of their attorney-client relationship"),

  2. Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Dailey

    Misc. Docket AG No. 1 (Md. Mar. 18, 2020)

    t attorneys who solicited and received personal loans from "former" clients. In such cases, courts have held that attorney-client relationships persisted (1) if the transactions are "the result of overreaching or manipulation of the former relationship," In re Ricco, 426 N.Y.S.2d 887, 888 (N.Y. App. Div. 1980), or, stated differently, (2) "if the circumstances are such that the former client reasonably expects the lawyer to exercise professional judgment therein for the protection of the [former] client," In re Ioannou, 89 A.D.3d 245, 250 (N.Y. App. Div. 2011) (internal quotation omitted) (alteration in original); see also In re Imming, 545 N.E.2d 715, 721 (Ill. 1989) (regarding loans from "former" clients for an attorney's non-legal business, holding that they "occurred so close in time to the respondent's legal services to each client as to cause the client to believe that the respondent's business relations were a continuation of the attorney-client relationship") (emphasis added); La. St. Bar Ass'n v. Williams, 498 So.2d 727, 728 (La. 1986) ("A lawyer may not enter into a business transaction with a client if they have differing interests therein and if the client expects the lawyer to exercise his professional judgment on that matter for the protection of the client[.]") (emphasis added); Law. Disciplinary Bd. v. Battistelli, 523 S.E.2d 257, 263 (W. Va. 1999) (noting that the "former" client "still considered the Respondent his attorney and felt obligated to give the Respondent the requested loan since the Respondent had assisted him in obtaining a favorable result" in his case).

  3. In re Gerdes

    74 So. 3d 650 (La. 2011)   Cited 1 times

    Mr. Williams is an attorney who has been suspended from the practice of law since 1986. See Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Williams, 498 So.2d 727 (La.1986), and In re: Williams, 02–2698 (La.4/9/03), 842 So.2d 353. Nevertheless, on February 15, 1996, Mr. Williams attended Mr. DeGruy's deposition and the deposition of Tina Louise Davis.

  4. In re Gerdes

    869 So. 2d 106 (La. 2004)   Cited 2 times

    In 1986, Mr. Williams was suspended from the practice of law for a minimum of two years. Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Williams, 498 So.2d 727 (La. 1986). The charges alleged that Mr. Williams engaged in a conflict of interest when he entered into a business transaction with a client without making full disclosure or advising his client to seek independent legal advice, charged an excessive legal fee in a worker's compensation case and neglected a legal matter.