Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 17, 1995 TAG: 9506200076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium
The group also said Thursday at its annual meeting in Virginia Beach that the number of lawyers disciplined by the bar has dropped for the second year in a row. Punishment ranges from a letter of reprimand to permanent disbarment.
This was welcome news to the profession that suffered a black eye in 1992, when the FBI caught Newport News lawyer David Murray stealing $42 million from clients.
``These statistics are somewhat encouraging, I think,'' Tazewell lawyer Robert B. Altizer said. He heads the bar's committee on lawyer discipline.
Through June 8, clients have filed 2,229 misconduct complaints against lawyers during the current fiscal year. That number is not likely to rise much before the year ends June 30.
In 1993, the bar got 2,422 complaints. In 1994, it got 2,599 complaints.
Few of those complaints result in punishment. After staff investigations, about 10 percent of all complaints lead to reprimands, suspensions, disbarments or other forms of discipline.
In 1993, 203 of the state's 26,000 lawyers were disciplined. In 1994, 189 lawyers were disciplined, and 149 lawyers have been disciplined this year.
Meanwhile, the bar took steps to ensure that victims of lawyers who steal get more of their money back. The State Bar Council gave an extra $270,000 to a fund that compensates such victims. The council also agreed to kick in $200,000 more next year and $200,000 every year thereafter until the fund reaches $3 million.
In the past, critics have said the fund is too small. It has about $1 million, but payments to victims sometimes outpace the bar's contributions. That happened last year, for example, when the fund paid $202,457 to 46 clients, but the bar contributed nothing.
by CNB