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Client Protection Fund Pays Out $112,000
To Claimants
(ANNAPOLIS, MD—July 10, 2002) During
their quarterly meeting on June 26, Trustees of the Clients' Security Trust
Fund, now known as the Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland, agreed
to pay out more than $112,000 to claimants whose attorney was found to
have kept money to which he/she was not entitled.
“The bulk of the money paid out to claimants was due to attorneys not doing
the work that they promised,” said Fund Trustee Isaac Hecht. “We sincerely
hope that the public realizes that these attorneys are a few bad apples
in an otherwise reputable group.”
More than half the money paid out at the Trustee meeting was to clients
of M. Cristina Gutierrez, who consented to disbarment in May. According
to Hecht, Gutierrez failed to hold property of clients separately from
her own, did not refund advanced fees that were not earned, and misappropriated
funds intended to be used for third-party payments.
In another claim, the Trustees determined that suspended attorney Thomas
J. Mooney accepted a case, but never filed papers in the case nor appeared
at a preliminary hearing. The trustees also reimbursed funds for a client
of Joel Chasnoff, who agreed to represent the claimant before the Court
of Special Appeals regarding a petition to modify alimony payments. All
the attorneys were found to have accepted payment from their clients, but
never conducted the work agreed upon.
The Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland was established by the
Maryland Legislature in 1965 to maintain the integrity and protect the
good name of the legal profession by reimbursing, to the extent authorized
by the rule and deemed proper and reasonable by the Trustees, losses caused
by theft of money by members of the Bar of the State of Maryland when acting
either as attorneys or fiduciaries. The Fund, a court-related agency under
the Maryland Court of Appeals, is supported entirely by attorneys in the
State who are required by law to pay an annual assessment for the right
to practice law.
The Client Protection Fund Trustees plan to meet next in October, 2002
to consider claims, among other things. The Fund has a new website, http://www.courts.state.md.us/cpf/index.html,
which provides a list of active attorneys registered in the State of Maryland,
instructions on how to file a claim, and a Frequently Asked Questions page.
For more information on the Client Protection Fund of the Bar of Maryland,
please call 410/260-1950.
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