► Attorney William Moritz of Hope, AR; cheater |
Attorney William Moritz of Hope, AR; cheater
Panel B of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct found William guilty of the following misconduct.
William was hired by Virginia Huckabee to assist her with property titled in the name of her deceased father. The property remained in the father’s name after his death and there was no probate proceeding.
Virginia paid William $3,500 to obtain title to her father’s property. William then prepared a Petitition for Appointment of an Administrator and Estate as well as a waiver for the heirs to sign. After the heirs signed, Bill paid a surveyor $800 to survey the property. Subsequently, William called Virginia and told her he had obtained a quitclaim deed from the court and that she would receive the deeds in a few days.
After not receiving the deeds Virginia made several calls to William, all of which he ignored. She then fired William and hired a new attorney that she initially paid $600. On several occasions, Virginia demanded that William refund the unearned fees he had maintained. William never responded to the demands.
It was only after Virginia filed an ethics complaint against William that he refunded $2,000 in unearned fees to her.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the apologists for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Arkansas Supreme Court punished William by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.
As we speak (ca. June 2012) William practices law at 1221 South Main Street in Hope, Arkansas.
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