It took one really bad lawyer to force the Virginia State Bar to do an about-face.
It started Oct. 19, with a plan to protect clients from dishonest lawyers. The proposal would make it harder for lawyers to secretly settle lawsuits and other claims for insurance without their clients’ knowledge and then keep the money.
This angered trial lawyers. They said there is no evidence that Virginia lawyers are crooks, so the plan was unnecessary.
The vote wasn’t close: The State Bar voted 54-7 to scrap the plan.
Then disaster struck.
Less than two months later, on Dec. 5, a Northern Virginia lawyer, Stephen T. Conrad of Woodbridge, was arrested and accused of doing exactly what the plan was designed to prevent. He settled hundreds of cases without his clients’ approval, then signed their names to settlement checks and kept the money.
Now, embarrassed by the Conrad case, the State Bar is reconsidering the protection plan it rejected in October.
Conrad was charged with embezzlement and forging his clients’ signatures. He surrendered his law license on Dec. 14, acknowledging that he “could not successfully defend” against the allegations. He is being held in the Prince William County jail.
Bar leaders said Conrad misappropriated at least $3.7 million. His misconduct dates to at least 2002 and continued through 2007, according to criminal charges and the State Bar’s investigation.
To prevent future Conrads, the bar’s proposal would require insurance companies to notify clients directly whenever settlement money is paid to lawyers on their behalf. That way, lawyers could not keep the money without their clients’ knowledge.
Currently, insurance companies notify only the lawyers, and they, in turn, tell their clients and pay the money.
The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association strongly opposed the plan. Now, the group is backpedaling.
In a letter to the State Bar last month, the association’s president, Charles J. Zauzig III of Woodbridge, said his group is happy to work with the bar to reconsider the issue.
And that’s exactly what will happen.
State Bar President Howard W. Martin Jr., a Norfolk lawyer, has sent the proposal back to a study committee for more work.
The Conrad case changed everything, Martin said. “That got the attention of the Virginia trial lawyers and some plaintiff lawyers on our board,” he said. “They said maybe it’s time to take another look at this.”
Conrad, 40, has been practicing law since 1993. He mainly represents clients with personal injury or workers’ compensation claims.
In November, a judge appointed a receiver to take over Conrad’s law office after repeated complaints of misconduct. In its court filing, the bar cited details in at least five cases in which Conrad settled cases without his clients’ knowledge and kept their money. The clients:
- In 2004, Conrad settled a personal injury case for $14,000. For years, he lied to the client about the settlement and refused to return her phone calls. He finally told the client in 2007, after she threatened to go to the State Bar, and he sent her some money.
- In 2005, Conrad settled a personal injury case for $5,000. The client found out two years later from a third party. Conrad told the State Bar he couldn’t pay the money because of medical liens. He failed to produce subpoenaed documents.
nIn 2005, Conrad settled three personal injury claims arising from a traffic accident for $10,500. The clients found out two years later after contacting the insurance company.
- In 2006, Conrad settled a personal injury case for $6,800. One year later, the client still wasn’t aware of the settlement when the State Bar told him about it.
- In July 2007, Conrad settled a workers’ compensation case for $22,500. The client found out a few months later after independently researching his case. Conrad promised to pay the client within 24 hours, but didn’t.
There is no definitive figure for how much Conrad is suspected of misappropriating. At a meeting of the bar’s executive committee, Martin said Conrad mishandled at least $3.7 million from about 250 clients.
“It’s a moving number,” said the court-appointed receiver, Richard S. Mendelson, an Alexandria lawyer. “It changes every day.”
Mendelson said he is reviewing files of more than 500 clients, some going back 10 years or more. He will file a report with the judge in late March, but it may be sealed, pending Conrad’s criminal case.
Would the proposed rules have prevented Conrad’s misdeeds?
That was debated last month by the State Bar’s executive committee in Richmond.
Irving M. Blank, a Richmond lawyer on the committee, said “there’s no question in my mind” Conrad would have been caught sooner had his clients known he was settling their cases and getting their checks. The misappropriation, he said, would have been much less than $3 million.
“The bar has an obligation to protect the public from something like this,” Blank told the committee. “If we don’t do something, members of the Fourth Estate are going to roast us.”
Another committee member, Edward L. Chambers Jr. of Yorktown, said if the public found out the bar rejected the insurance plan in October, followed by Conrad’s arrest on embezzlement charges , it would look terrible.
Virginia Beach lawyer Judith L. Rosenblatt said she was less concerned with public perception than in public protection. She cited the cases of Conrad and Troy A. Titus, a Virginia Beach lawyer who was disbarred in 2005 and is accused in lawsuits of misappropriating more than $2 million belonging to clients and investors.
“We look horrible, and we should look horrible, because we are not policing ourselves,” Rosenblatt said.
The proposal has its critics.
Some lawyers said requiring insurance companies to communicate directly with clients would interfere with the attorney-client relationship. They said insurance companies are adversaries with clients and should communicate through their lawyers.
One lawyer, George E. Allen III of Richmond, wrote to the State Bar last year: “The problem is not significant enough in Virginia to justify the intervention in the attorney-client relationship.”
Other lawyers complained that the plan would invade a client’s right to privacy and confidentiality, and might invite relatives to steal the client’s settlement check.
One lawyer wrote that a plaintiff’s physical safety might be endangered if his location were revealed to a third party by the insurance company’s letter.
Twelve states have rules or laws requiring insurance companies to notify clients directly when they make a payment to a lawyer. The American Bar Association recommends that every state pass such a law.
In response to critics, Christopher J. Habenicht, a suburban Richmond lawyer who chairs the bar’s Public Protection Task Force, defended the insurance notification plan.
“The task force considers the intrusion into the attorney-client relationship to be minimal and outweighed by the salutary effect of the recommended statute at negligible cost,” he wrote in October. “The task force is of the opinion that if the statute prevented one theft … it would well serve its purpose.”
After Conrad’s arrest, the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association agreed to reconsider the issue.
“We will work with the bar to try to come up with some type of solution,” Zauzig said. “We’re not closing the door on anything.”
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The Plaintiff Bar Shifts the Burden
The whole scheme is typical of the plaintiff's bar. It seems they recognize that some (or more) among them, despite whatever pledges or oaths they have taken, are untrustworthy. The Bar itself has been ineffective in policing its own. So they intend to shift the burden to the insurance company. They want the insurance company to inform the claimant that that a settlement has been reach and payment made. What if they don't? And the attorney steals the money? What then? Gonna make the insurance company responsible? That's precisely their plan. They want to legislate insurers into insuring the plaintiffs bar. Question: is the plaintiffs bar willing to pay a premium for the insurance they want, or do they expect it for free? Something tells me they want it for free. Trusting attorneys is risky enough. Relying on the plaintiffs bar to police their own is even riskier.
RE: A case I had
I forgot to mention Decker would only accept cash. I'm sure it was reported as income on his tax return. Yeah right!
A case I had
A case I had a number of years ago I went to Pete Decker, he told me he would handle the case, but I had to pay all the legal fees up front in the case and would not get a receipt. As stupid as I was at the time I did as I was told, and still lost the case. Never again!
arrogant, arrogant, arrogant!
Yes, there are honest lawyers, but it would appear that, as an organization, they are extremely arrogant. "Currently, insurance companies notify only the lawyers, and they, in turn, tell their clients and pay the money." Is that the perfect picture of disdain or what? Lawyer: "I'll tell you what the settlement is. You have no right to know anything but what I tell you". Man what a scheme for the perfect rip-off scenario. How, exactly does one ever know what any real settlement is? Do you-all suppose this has not happened before? It sounds to me like an institutional level crime. Arrogant lawyers.
BTW, I have worked with a few, and they were some of the dumbest people I have ever met. I had to prove my own case in one lawsuit. The lawyer was clueless, and the defendant's lawyer was even stupider (thank goodness). I won my own case.
Lawyer jokes
I wonder why there are so many lawyer jokes. They are tops in the professional field I guess.
Seriously.....
"All I care about attorneys is that they are back in their coffins by daybreak." (Unknown)
Oh Well..
Q: What do you call a majority of Virginia Lawyers skydiving over Suffolk?
A: Skeet
The Virginia State Bar Assoc neglect
VSB membership is required in order to practice law in Virginia. Lawyers control a huge portion of activities that effect the lives of everyday citizens, from making laws in the legislature, to closing on most real estate transactions. The Bar is supposed to oversee their members and ensure the legal and ethical practice of law in Virginia. It is painfully obvious Virginia State Bar is doing a poor job of it's oversight responsibilities. Just two lawyers, Troy Titus and Stephen T. Conrad have defrauded their clients out of over $7 million over several years. Some other agency needs to watch the lawyers. It is obvious the VSB isn't.
Virginia Lawyers are Crooks
I had a accident case and the lawyers got $28,000 when it was over I got $6,000. Medical bills were $18,000. They didn't even disclose to me how much they actually got paid until I went in and demanded paperwork, which the secretary said, oh you have to pay us for that.Another lawyer asked for a $5000.00 retainer for a case on a contract dispute, come to find out his license to practice in Virginia was suspended. Another lawyer stood in the elevator and told the police who had injured me in an accident that "you guys are doing a great job". Come to find out he was a substitute judge in Norfolk. They sued my insurance and let the City go free. Crooks!!!!
Treat Equally
When the police appear to do something wrong there is always a call for a board apart from the PD to do an investigation. Why do we not consider the same for lawyers?
Sorry
The word was LUMP not lumo... (fat fingered the kb)
Oxymorn
HONEST LAWYERS! Yea, right. I beleive in Big Foot and Lock Ness Monster too.
Attorneys
I have a personal friend who is an attorney, and I can tell you there there ARE honest lawyers out there. Please do not lumo all attorneys as dishonest.
it's just a letter
I guess I don't understand. This proposal is for a letter to be sent after the case is ended. The letter states your case was decided and this was the results. If they are worried about the wrong party finding out info and names why not have it done automatically by the courts, the neutral party. It's just a done deal letter. It makes sure everyone involved knows what happened. I saw no where in the story where any other procedure changes were suggested. I can not understand why this is a big deal and hasn't been done already. It seems the person who hired the lawyer and was the main interested party has been the only one left out of the loop unless his hired lawyer decides to "be honest" and tell him what's going on.
negligence
I do agree contributory negligence is not fair to the injured party. I agree more with the comparative state statutes, but contrib is what the state law is. So we must live with triple dipping and contrib negligence.
GA
I say vote him in as a legislator in the General Assembly. He would fit right in!
"Legal Counsel"
Q: How can you tell when a lawyer is lying?
A: His lips are moving.
Q: How come New York got all the lawyers, and New Jersey got all the hazardous waste sites?
A: New Jersey had first pick.
Does this article surprise anyone?
The Photo Provided With The Story
The picture provided with this story appears to be of poor quality. It doesn't look like a picture taken by a Pilot photographer...Anyway the man featured in the picture does look "none too happy", perhaps a long wait at the DMV, or while being booked for some type of criminal offense. It's possible one of those two sources are responsible for this poor excuse of a photograph. lol
Lawyer? Who needs one with representation like this?!
It's the BIGGEST JOKE in Virginia (Hampton Roads)..."Hire a Lawyer" OH, and you PAY them 1st BEFORE you go to court? Once they have the $ in their pocket when (IF) they go to court they don't fight as hard. Lawyers should be "commission-based" and treated as Salesmen. They don't win...you don't pay. There would be a WHOLE lot more honest lawyers out there to protect the innocent. I've heard over and over again the words of, "Do you have an Attorney" when it comes to fighting a political injustice with the Va. Employment Cmsn (VEC). Does it matter? If I did have an Atty...does it mean you're not going to mess with me and play your "bully" games? Hey folks...when you APPEAL something to the Richmond Supreme Court.....the VEC cannot mandate/force you to repay something that is on APPEAL. They are forcing payment by harassment procedures that are illegal. Who needs a crooked attorney when the Courts need to realize INDIVIDUAL Representation. Nobody CAN do it better and NOBODY has a personal interest in ANY case except YOUR CASE!
Response to below
I am an attorney, and I will tell you there are some unethical attorneys practicing law, just as there are unethical doctors, politicians, plumbers, salespeople, etc. It's not a problem limited to the practice of law.
Regarding your problems with personal injury claims, the Virginia Supreme Court has held that one shouldn't be penalized for having insurance. After all, why should one get less compensation because they were smart enough to pay a little every month?
More than medical bills are awarded to take care of pain and suffering. Soft tissue injuries can linger.