Dirty LAWndry reader, “Jennifer,” is considering quitting the legal profession based on some dirty behavior that she recently witnessed.

“I’m a chairman on a panel of attorneys that serves as arbitrators for our court system. This is not a full- or even part-time position for me or any of the other arbitrators. I have a full-time job at a law firm, and I am extremely busy there. Unfortunately, I’m being dragged into a time-consuming ethics investigation because of another attorney’s vendetta against another member of the bar. Basically, plaintiff’s counsel had a petty argument with defense counsel over a personal issue years ago. Since that time, plaintiff’s counsel apparently held a grudge. So, in front of our panel, plaintiff’s counsel brought up issues about defense counsel’s moral character and accused defense counsel of all sorts of criminal behavior - fraud, perjury, etc. Plaintiff’s counsel did not have any basis or evidence for her contentions. It was pretty obvious that plaintiff’s counsel simply did not like defense counsel and wanted to damage her career. But, accusations of this sort against an attorney have to be addressed, especially when they’re being heard in an open courtroom. So, now I’m being dragged into this investigation and it’s so frustrating. Then I started thinking about how easy it is for a member of our bar to simply accuse another attorney of wrongdoing without any basis. Unfortunately, in our state, even accusations of wrongdoing are publicly available no matter the outcome.”

If you have a story you would like to share on DirtyLAWndry, contact me at blog@dirtyLAWndry.com.

According to the Dallas Observer, former Dallas County judge and prosecutor Catherine Crier was falsely accused of being a murder suspect, a shoplifter, serving jail time, and being disbarred on her Wikipedia page. None of this is true. Apparently, someone took the facts from a 2007 Dallas Morning News story about attorney Catherine Shelton and switched the names in the Wikipedia entry.

 Loading ...

I’m sure you’ve heard by now of paralegal, Kathy Foer-Morse, who stole over $100K from High Swartz law firm in Norristown, PA to pay restitution to the New York City law firm of Satterlee, Stephens, Burke & Burke. Apparently, she thought it was a good idea to steal from deceased people’s estates and forge the executor’s signature on checks written to herself. What is really getting to me is the fact that she was “was employed at the firm for 10 months before she was fired May 1 for showing up late, leaving early and going out of the office without being accessible by phone.” So, the firm put up with this behavior for 10 whole months before doing something about it!?! Basically, she was being paid for rarely being at work for 10 whole months. You can read the details of this story at Philly.com.

Dirty LAWndry reader, “Mark”, wants to share his experience at his new job.

“I got laid off from BigLaw in Philly a few months ago. I was working in the REIT department for a little over a year right after law school. Recently, I got hired by a very small real estate company in Norristown. I applied for and accepted the job because it seemed like no one else was hiring and I needed more money than what unemployment compensation provides. However, this company is owned by a shady lawyer/realtor and his wife. Two weeks after I started working, I was told that he was going to decrease my pay from $30 hourly to $10 hourly. Yes, 10 freaking dollars an hour. They expect me to go to court to represent the company and also do all the transactional work for freaking 10 dollars an hour. Then he basically said that I should just be grateful for the experience that I wouldn’t have received at BigLaw. I don’t give a damn about experience at this point. The worst part about it is that I will be making a little bit more than what I received on unemployment. Needless to say, I am still job searching.”

If you have a story you’d like to share, email blog@dirtyLAWndry.com.

Dirty LAWndry reader, “Lorna”, is mad at her co-workers for costing her precious overtime.

“I work at a large firm in Philadelphia. If you don’t know, the Philadelphia job market for legal professionals is almost extinct at this point. Everyone who is unemployed can’t find a job. Everyone who has a job is desperately trying to hang on to it. I’m one of those few people. I got laid off last year but was fortunate to get a document review position. Some of the people that were hired for this project are professional individuals. But, then there are the blinking idiots that we have to work with. One of them has no idea what due diligence means, and she’s NOT a newly barred attorney or fresh out of law school. This is just one example of what I have to work with. During a meeting about the project, we were offered overtime hours for nights and weekends. Well, the blinking idiots were complaining that no one told them beforehand that there would be overtime offered, that they already had weekend plans, yada, yada, yada. Unfortunately, they make up the majority of reviewers. So, now, overtime hours for this weekend are canceled. I could have used the extra money.”

Sorry, “Lorna.” I think I’m going to start using the phrase “blinking idiots.”

If you have a story you’d like to submit to Dirty LAWndry, send an email to blog@dirtyLAWndry.com.

Why does it seem like even more attorneys are resorting to physically fighting officials? Now, judges are fighting one another. What’s really going on in this industry?

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Macomb County defense lawyer, Timothy Barkovic, is being charged with ssault and battery and disturbing the peace. His victim is a police officer that claims he was walking away from Barkovic. This is not the first time that Barkovic has had “issues” with law enforcement. He was arrested during a John McCain presidential campaign rally and was accused of resisting arrest. He was also “temporarily banned from the circuit courthouse in Mt. Clemens after a run-in with a security officer.”

The Dallas Morning News has a story about two civil court judges, Judge Carlos Cortez of the 44th Civil District Court and Judge Eric V. Moyé of the 14th Civil District Court, involved in a shoving match over emails. You’ll have to read the story to get the rest of the information. But, I’m just shaking my head over this one.

Dirty LAWndry Reader, “Samantha,” is about to stir up a bunch of controversy with her email.

“I work in a large firm as a paralegal and I don’t understand why there isn’t a requirement for lawyers in the US to speak English. I noticed that, even though my firm has let go a bunch of attorneys recently, they have recruited “consultants” to take their place. All of the “consultants”-with the exception of one- are from India. I have no problem with Indians or any culture for that matter. But, if I’m expected to do my work, I have to be able to understand what I’m being told to do. I feel fortunate to still have a job, so I don’t dare complain to anyone here. Plus, there’s a rumor that the “consultants” are actually from a agency in India and are being paid way less than what the lawyers here make. I’m not even sure if they are licensed attorneys. Everyone fears that they’re going to be replaced soon by a “consultant.”

Dirty LAWndry thinks there are more problems at that firm than just communication issues. Speak on it, people.

Kevin M. Plante, a former Hinckley, Allen & Snyder associate, was fired from his job after he after he refused partners’ instructions to destroy child pornography found on a client’s computer hard drive. You can read the details of this story at Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.