In Re Taylor

DISCIPLINARY ACTION

The respondent, Patrick R. Taylor, agreed to handle a client’s dissolution for approximately $2,500. Although the divorce court determined that the client’s attorney fees should not have exceeded $3,500, the respondent billed the client nearly $13,000 and required her to transfer her $17,000 interest in the marital home to him as payment for about $9,000 in legal fees. The respondent failed to disclose the full terms of the transaction, to advise his client to seek the advice of independent counsel or to obtain her written consent to it. For this professional misconduct, we…