Attorney Misconduct, Legal Ethics, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners

What's Worse Than Billing A Client For Bottled Water? Billing Them For Sanctions

We've got to do better than this, according to columnist Keith Lee.

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Last week I wrote about a complaint I heard from a client after they had been billed for two bottles of water served to them by their former lawyers at a meeting. I got numerous emails from people saying it was one of the most shocking behaviors that they had ever heard, the lowest of the low — a lawyer billing a client for a bottle of water that they had given to the client. When I wrote about it, it was the most egregious thing I had ever heard that a lawyer had billed to their client. But as a lawyer I know often says, “Take your expectations, then put even lower. Try the gutter.”

Less than a week later, there’s something worse in the news. A lawyer got sanctioned for his incompetent representation — then billed the sanctions to the client….

Here are the allegations against Illinois lawyer Cameron Davidson, as reported by the ABA Journal:

According to the Iowa Supreme Court Disciplinary Board, Davidson neglected to arrange for [his client] Deere’s complete answers during discovery in an employment lawsuit, failed to communicate to Deere the nature of the discovery dispute, and charged Deere for expenses as a result of his own acts or omissions.

The disciplinary board opinion (PDF) told Davidson he “failed to plainly inform that the sanctions resulted from your own lack of diligence and communication.”

In the first billing, Davidson characterized a $700 charge to cover a sanction payable to plaintiff’s lawyer B. Douglas Stephens as “Miscellaneous; Penalty on Discovery; Doug Stephens Law Firm.” In the second, Davidson labeled the billing for a $1,750 sanction as “Misc[ellaneous] Costs.” In the third, Davidson labeled the bill for a $1,050 sanction as “Miscellaneous; Attorneys’ Fees; B. Douglas Stephens.”

The disciplinary board goes on to note that “it was unreasonable to bill your client for sanctions which principally resulted from your own lack of diligence and communication.” You think? Sure Davidson reported himself to the Board for review — but only after his former partners discovered his behavior. Would he have come forward if his former partners never discovered it?

I can only imagine the client’s reaction when they were told what had happened. They were paying their lawyer to represent them; he screwed up, got penalized for it by the court, and then billed the sanctions to them. Not exactly the type of behavior that builds strong relationships with clients. To the contrary, I would imagine it is the type of behavior that could destroy relationships with clients.

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Lawyers are among the few professions in society where there are explicit rules of professional conduct. Lawyers adopt these rules in order to help guide the behavior of the profession. Lawyer then swear oaths to uphold these rules. And it’s the oaths that lawyers, doctors, and the clergy take that differentiate them from other people. No banker swears to keep your secrets; no middle manager swears to uphold the truth.

Billing clients for sanctions due to your own incompetence is the type of behavior that gives lawyers the type of reputation they often have. It’s the type of story that gets passed around to show that lawyers are unethical and take advantage of people. But it’s also an opportunity for other lawyers to stand up, point out the behavior, and plainly state that it is unacceptable. It’s important to let the public know that such conduct is an anomaly, not the norm.

We’ve got to do better than this.

Earlier: Do You Build Invoices Or Relationships?

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Keith Lee practices law at Hamer Law Group, LLC in Birmingham, Alabama. He writes about professional development, the law, the universe, and everything at Associate’s Mind. He is also the author of The Marble and The Sculptor: From Law School To Law Practice (affiliate link), published by the ABA. You can reach him at keith.lee@hamerlawgroup.com or on Twitter at @associatesmind.

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