| Case Digest |
By Report and Recommendation dated July 23, 2010, the Disciplinary Board recommended that Respondent’s license to practice law be suspended for a period of five-years. Respondent had his friend and fellow lawyer with whom he shared office space draft a will for Respondent’s elderly client leaving Respondent the bulk of the client’s assets. Respondent supplied all relevant terms of the will to his friend, who never met with the client or discussed the will with her prior to obtaining her signature to the will. Respondent’s friend failed to perform any of the functions an independent lawyer would have performed when drafting a will for a new client. Shortly after the will transaction, Respondent assumed near total control of his elderly client’s assets, including jointly titling 90% of her assets, over a half million dollars, in both of their names. Prior to opening the joint account Respondent failed to ensure that: (1) the transaction and its terms were fair and reasonable to his client, and fully disclosed and transmitted in writing in a manner that could be reasonably understood by the client; (2) the client was advised in writing of the desirability of seeking and was given a reasonable opportunity to seek the advice of independent legal counsel; and (3) the client gave her informed consent in a writing signed by her, to the essential terms of the transaction and Respondent’s role in the transaction, including whether Respondent represented her in the transaction.
By Order dated November 4, 2010, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted the Disciplinary Board’s Recommendation and suspended Respondent’s license for five years.
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