| ► Attorney Scott Cole of Oakland; greedy, ethical gremlin |
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Attorney Scott Cole of Oakland; greedy, ethical gremlin
The state of California presented Scott Edward Cole with a law license in 1992 after he graduated from the Un
 iversity of San Francisco Law School.
The California State Bar Court found Scott guilty of the following misconduct.
In one matter, Scott represented a client as the plaintiff in a personal injury matter. Subsequently, Scott presented to his client a settlement agreement for $80,000 spread over a three year period of time.
The defendant was supposed to make an initial payment of $37,500, followed by 36 monthly payments of $1,180. $32,000 of the first payment was to go to Scott for attorney fees, and $3,000 for costs.
Scott was entitled to $3,000 in costs plus 40% of the present value of the settlement, which was just over $42,000. Therefore, Scott was entitled to $16,888. By taking $32,000, Scott acquired a pecuniary interest that was clearly adverse to his client’s interests.
Scott failed to advise his client to seek independent legal advice before accepting the terms of the settlement presented to him by Scott.
Later on, Scott demanded that the client pay him another $12,668 for costs incurred before the proposed settlement took place. When the client refused to pay, Scott sued her. However, an arbitrator determined that Scott was only due what he had already received.
Scott stipulated that he acquired a pecuniary interest adverse to his client and that he did not advise her to seek independent legal advice. Scott further admitted that he failed to keep his client informed of developments in her case by not telling her the costs of the matter exceeded $12,000.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the apologists for Attorney Misfits sitting on the California State Bar Court punished Scott by gifting him with a complimentary stayed 1-year suspension of his law license. In truth, the comedians sitting on the Bar Court didn’t mete out any meaningful punishment to Scott.
On his website at www.scalaw.com, Scott makes absolutely no mention of the misconduct findings of the State Bar as aforementioned. Apparently, Scott decided to conceal these facts so as to not limit his future victim pool.
As we speak (ca. February 2013), Scott practices law with Scott Cole & Associates APC at 1970 Broadway in Oakland, California.
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