Small Law Firms

With A Name Like This, An Ethics Complaint Was Only A Matter Of Time

It may not be fair, but some people just have to work harder.

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The Three Stooges practiced fictional law as the firm, “Dewey, Cheatem and Howe.” The premise of the sketch was that no one would seriously trust any law firm named “Dewey.”

Kidding aside, the Stooges were playing off the idea that lawyers are all on the verge of cheating their clients. So any attorney unlucky enough to be named “Cheatham” probably should expect the spotlight to shine just a little brighter on his actions and conduct himself accordingly. Unfortunately for one Anthony Cheatham, he chose another path.

Cheatham just entered a guilty plea after facing charges that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly clients. Cheatham had his license suspended last year and was disbarred in October when investigators found more problems:

“While Cheatham was suspended from the practice of law, he received into his IOLTA account a wire transfer of $140,600 from the purchasers to fund the purchase; he had also received a $1,000 check as earnest money. He converted the funds to his own use and commingled the funds with his personal funds,” the high court said.

Come closing time on July 13, 2017, Cheatham “did not have sufficient funds to promptly disburse the proceeds of the sale to the seller. Instead he made incremental payments and misled both the seller and purchasers about the reasons therefor. He issued one check for $56,880 on July 25, 2017, but stopped payment on the check the next day because he knew there were insufficient funds in his IOLTA account.”

Cheatham has made full restitution and will be released soon — having spent the last year in custody already.

Ex-Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Stealing From Clients [Daily Report Online]

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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