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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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