We recently discussed the new $20M baseline for partners at Biglaw firms. This is not the only newly emerging baseline. For example, at what point is it worth risking your entire career for a bit of quick coin? It seems to be around $5k. You may have heard about the lawyer who got disbarred for $5k, but you might have missed that describes two recent disbarments. First, there’s Denise Gunn who was disbarred on May 23rd. Tampa Bay has coverage:

Clients of a Naples family law attorney complained to the Florida Bar that she stopped communicating with them after they paid her for work, and the Bar knows how they feel — she didn’t answer the Bar grievances filed against her in any way.

Second is Randy Adams, who also decided that $5k was worth trading his practice for. You can read the Colorado Supreme Court decision here.

It’s an unfortunate truth but be careful, because scammers are out there. If you plan on seeking out counsel, do your best to vet out any Millibelles (mild language warning).

Word to the wise, if you’d like to follow up on Adams’s disbarment know that he also goes by R. Daniel Adams. Just make sure you’re reading about him and not Dennis Adams, who was also disbarred this year from stealing from his clients. If it helps make this Peerless scenario a little easier to differentiate, the latter Adams stole $25k from his client, suggesting that he valued his career about 5 times more than the former Adams. Know your worth, people!

If you’re a practicing lawyer considering throwing away those nights you struggled learning RAP for a quick buck from an unsuspecting client, maybe don’t? There are a bunch of Biglaw associates who are picking up side gigs and managing to keep their day jobs. Sounds a lot better in the long term than scamming.

2 Men Paid A Florida Lawyer $5,000. She Ghosted Each Without Doing The Work. [Tampa Bay]
Lawyer Disbarred For Pocketing $5K From Broke Clients He Didn’t Help [Business Den]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.