CASE LAW EXAMPLES OF ATTORNEY FEES ISSUES

CASE LAW EXAMPLES OF ATTORNEY FEES ISSUES


The following link shows case law examples of issues that may arise with attorney's fees during guardianship proceedings:

http://www.gac.state.il.us/osg/caselaw/2002/clawIV.htm#b.


Here is an example of an attorney whose license was suspended in Wisconsin for collecting unreasonable attorney's fees during guardianship proceedings:

Board of Professional Responsibility v. Glynn, Wisconsin Supreme Court, 225 Wis. 2d 202, 591 N.W.2d 606 (1999). A Milwaukee attorney who was appointed guardian in two routine guardianship cases was suspended from the practice of law for one year. “By collecting unreasonable attorney fees from three clients without the approval of the court in which their matters resided, by failing to file the necessary reports with the court in those matters and act competently and timely in them, and by using false statements and documents to justify his excessive fees and to mislead the person investigating his conduct, Attorney Glynn has demonstrated a willingness to place his own pecuniary interests above the interests of the clients whose representation he undertook by court appointment and to create false documents to prevent that conduct from being discovered. In the administrative process brought against the attorney, the referee appointed to investigate the charges recommended only a six-month suspension, but the Board of Attorneys Professional Responsibility appealed and argued in favor of the one-year suspension.

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Your ProbateSharks Case Law Research Team