Attorney Mary-Anne Martell of Westbrook, ME; ethical dwarf

The state of Maine presented Mary-Anne E. Martell with a law license in 1996 after she graduated from the University of Maine Law School.

The Maine Board of Bar Overseers of the found Mary-Anne guilty of the following misconduct.

• Improperly placed clients’ advance fees in firm’s operating account
• Mishandled Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA)
• Failed to timely provide court-ordered check to opposing counsel
• Threatened clients with withdrawal if more fees were not paid
• Failed to promptly refund unearned fees
• On various occasions withdrew funds from firm’s operating account to pay her personal expenses
• Failed to properly communicate with client
• Failed to timely return client file after being discharged
• Failed to provide client with accounting of claimed fees as promised

As a consequence of her misconduct, the Patron Saints for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Maine Supreme Judicial Court punished Mary-Anne by gifting her with a complimentary reprimand.

As we speak (ca. June 2015), Mary-Anne practices with Seacoast Law at 1399 Bridgton Road in Westbrook, Maine.