Lawyers cleared of ethics charges
A judge has cleared six Verrill Dana lawyers of all the ethics charges brought against them in connection with the John Duncan case.
Maine Supreme Court Justice Donald Alexander wrote in his order that the lawyers acted reasonably and in good faith on the information they knew at the time about the thefts by their former colleague, the Portland Press Herald reported. Duncan, who had been a lawyer at Verrill Dana since 1978, was sentenced in 2008 for two years at a federal prison and disbarred for life for stealing approximately $300,000 from clients and the firm.
The Maine Board of Bar Overseers later filed a complaint against David Warren, the firm's managing partner at the time of the scandal, as well as James Kilbreth III, Eric Altholz, Mark Googins, Roger Clement Jr. and Juliet Browne, arguing that they did not act appropriately or promptly when they learned of Duncan's misconduct. But Alexander wrote that Warren's decision to inform Duncan's supervisor about his behavior three months after allegations first surfaced was driven by his "humane" concern that Duncan might commit suicide, as well as his belief that Duncan admitted to all his misdeeds and repaid the firm what he had stolen, the paper reported.
Go to the article in the Portland Press Herald >>
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