| ► Attorney William Summers of Chagrin Falls, OH; ethical goblin |
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Attorney William Summers of Chagrin Falls, OH; ethical goblin The state of Ohio presented William Lawrence Summers with a law license in 1969 after he graduated from Cleveland State University Law School.
Disciplinary Counsel of the Ohio Supreme Court found William guilty of the following misconduct.
In one matter, William was hired to represent a client in a criminal case. At the initial meeting with the client and his family, William obtained an advance of $1,000 for expenses and a $2,500 retainer.
When the client received William’s first invoice, he discovered that the initial $2,500 retainer had been exhausted and that he owed William an additional $2,500. Several days before a pretrial hearing, William told his client he was in breach of the fee
Subsequently, the client and his family agreed to a new flat-fee agreement, which specified a nonrefundable flat fee of $15,000. The $15,000 was in addition to the $2,500 the client already paid.
Four months later, the representation abruptly ended. After withdrawing from the case, William failed to refund any of the $17,725 in fees he had collected. The board ordered William to refund $15,000 to his client which represented fees he never earned.
As a consequence of her misconduct, the cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court punished William by gifting him with a complimentary stayed 180-day suspension of his law license. In truth, the comedians sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court didn’t mete out any meaningful punishment to William.
As we speak (ca. February 2013) William practices at 17549 Merry Oaks Trail in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
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