| ► Attorney Michael Sherman of Greenwich, CT; ethical gremlin |
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Attorney Michael Sherman of Greenwich, CT; ethical gremlin
The state of Connecticut provided Michael Sherman with a law license in 1971.
The Statewide Grievance Committee found Michael guilty of the following misconduct
In one matter, Michael represented Hakan Halinak in regard to an investigation that he schemed with Matthew Thomas in an effort to defraud credit card companies. Hakan told Michael that he was taken advantage by Thomas. Hakan also said he was a student at NYU and that he had no criminal record.
Based on what Michael thought was a contained criminal matter involving a young, honest college student who duped into participating in a credit card scheme, he agreed to represent Hakan on an hourly basis with an initial retainer of $50,000.
Several days later, Michael claimed he was astonished to learn from the U.S. Attorney’s Office that Hakan was being investigated for a complex scheme of bank and stock fraud. Michael then spoke with Hakan who told him he was exposed to more criminal cases besides the credit card fraud investigation. Michael then quoted Hakan a fixed earned fee of $250,000, which would include a trial, if needed. Michael also told Hakan that he would credit the $50,000 fee already paid for a total of $300,000. Hakan agreed to the fee but Michael never reduced the fee agreement to writing.
Subsequently, Michael withdrew from Hakan’s case. Hakan then demanded a refund of $50,000 of the $275,000 already paid in fees, which Michael later refunded.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the apologists for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Statewide Grievance Committee punished Michael by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.
As we speak (ca. January 2013) Michael practices with the Law Offices of Michael Sherman LLC at 6 West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich, Connecticut.
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