Everyone loves to pick on lawyers. People like David W. Stauffer make it easy. Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court suspended the Portland lawyer from practice for two years--a substantial amount of time, and a penalty he entirely deserves. In 1986, Stauffer, a solo practitioner, agreed to represent Esther Smith after her husband, John, died without a will. His estate didn't amount to much: about $132,000 at the most. That didn't stop Stauffer from billing Esther Smith $100,000 in legal fees and interest. His trick was in transforming a simple probate matter into a lengthy legal battle involving about a dozen lawyers in several courts. It took 10 years to close the estate, and the ordeal wound up sending Smith into bankruptcy. The Supreme Court accused Stauffer of, among other things, misleading the bankruptcy court in order to collect his fees. "This case involves a staggering amount of unnecessary litigation and the multi-year probate of an essentially no-asset estate which should have been closed promptly," the court wrote. As if that weren't roguish enough, here's the kicker. Even after the Supreme Court decided his fee was "grossly excessive," and after the probate court ruled he should receive only $9,000 for his work, Stauffer is still suing Smith for the $100,000 he claims she owes him. That trial was scheduled for last week, but it was postponed because Smith was too ill to attend. "I did an excellent job for this lady," Stauffer told WW. "I have tried on numerous occasions to negotiate with her to cut my fees way, way down. She's never made one counter offer." |
