HANFORD — Over the years, two small law firms in this town have generated more questions from readers about attorney fees and billing practices than any other we have seen, and this column has reviewed bills from across the country.

For things that are normal overhead — customarily covered by an hourly fee — these lawyers would charge extra, such as: “Discussing your case with my secretary, 30 minutes. Review of File — 45 minutes. Reviewing your file with my new associate and paralegal, 1 hour.”

On cases where nothing was happening (confirmed by examining the court’s file) “Review of File — 1 hour” would appear on a bill every six weeks. With several clients, over half of the retainer was cannibalized this way.

Now, you don’t want to see your lawyer standing by the side of the road with a sign reading, “Will Give Legal Advice for Food.”  If an attorney is competent and knows how to run a business, then it’s not that difficult to earn a good income. Note: The operative word is earn, not steal.

But when a lawyer’s moral compass is Gordon Gekko, and he or she lives by the motto “Greed is Good,” then clients become victims of predatory billing practices. This column has helped our readers stand up to these guys, saving thousands of dollars, and it would have been easy to conclude that one of them was up to it again when we received this email:

“Our attorney is handling a real estate matter and I phoned to check on how the case was coming along. Later, his bill arrived, and in addition to other items, there was a $150 charge for that telephone conversation. Is it reasonable to be billed for simply asking about the status of our case?”

‘Time is the Lawyer’s Inventory’

As we would learn from New York attorney Seth Rosner — regarded as one of the nation’s most respected experts in legal ethics and professional responsibility — the answer to the question is: Yes – No – It Depends.

“That truly is a serious answer,” Rosner explained. “Clients need to know what is happening with their case or, for example, if a draft of their will or contract is ready. Questions which can be answered briefly should not be billed.

“But often it isn’t a question that calls for a yes-or-no type of answer, as the client asks for an explanation, or provides information in response to the lawyer’s request. Before you know it, half an hour is gone,” he points out, and next highlights the difference about law practice from most any other line of work:

“For a moment, let’s think of a Lowe’s or Home Depot, and the enormous inventory of things which they sell to generate the money which pays employee salaries, heat, air conditioning, rent, computers, all the same things which lawyers have to pay for as well.

“But our inventory isn’t stuff; rather, it’s time. We sell time, advice, knowledge and information. Whatever result the client is looking for, the attorney-client relationship is all about time. But often what the client expects goes well beyond what the lawyer understands, so this needs to be addressed when the attorney is hired,” he maintains.

A clear retainer agreement is important

“In general, where attorney fees are expected to exceed a certain amount — for example, $1,000 in California — a written fee agreement is required. This is also known as a retainer or engagement agreement.

“Clients typically have greater expectations for work than what the lawyer thinks. For that reason, the agreement must define as precisely as possible the scope — what services the lawyer will perform — and just as important, services which the lawyer will not, such as filing an appeal. And it is extremely important to state how the bill will be calculated.

“It is critical that the written retainer agreement be in clear language.” Rosner stressed.

“While it is a business transaction, an attorney-client relationship is different from virtually all others. It must be based on truthfulness, trust and placing the client’s interests ahead of the lawyer’s.

“So, an easy-to-understand retainer agreement will often be the key to establishing a relationship that lasts for decades and embody the Lawyer’s Golden Rule:

“Always treat every client as you would wish to be treated if the client was sitting in your chair and you were on the other side of the desk,” Rosner concluded.

And our Hanford reader? Did he ask a question that called for that brief, yes-or-no kind of an answer, or was their discussion far more involved? We’ll tell you next time, as well as focus on how clients can drive their lawyers “sane.”

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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When 21-year-old Jordan George of Eureka first saw the picture of “this Italian beauty” online, he knew, “She was the one, and only 9 hours away, in Fresno. It was love at first sight!”

Jordan imagined a future together, proudly showing her off to his friends, and together driving through one of California’s most beautiful regions.

And then one morning he could not awaken his love, and would soon be informed that her “dad,” Jasdeep Singh of Fresno, had neglected her terribly, not changing oil or performing other vital maintenance on the 2014 Maserati Ghibli he sold to this naive and trusting 21 year-old for $23,000.

As George still lives at home, his mom emailed me. A story of deceit became instantly clear. I have texts sent by Singh to George which are one of clearest examples of a seller misleading a buyer that I’ve ever seen. These texts reveal how Singh created an atmosphere of trust that George relied on.

‘Everything is perfect’

During their negotiations in the summer of 2020, Singh sent this text to George: “Everything is perfect. You don’t need to do anything.”

“A statement like that could constitute fraud or an express warranty if George had significant issues with the car shortly after taking possession, It would be good evidence the seller knew things were far from perfect at the time he made those statements,”  Loyola Law Professor Brian Hull says, adding:

“The seller would be liable to pay for repairs or refund the buyer’s money.”

Within weeks of taking possession of the vehicle, George was quoted repair charges of more than $15,000, from Maserati of Marin, based on a laundry list of failures by the seller to properly maintain the vehicle.

But Singh dug a much deeper hole for himself, as you will see.

‘Has the car passed smog?’

In California, and a few other states, the seller has the legal obligation of providing a smog certificate. There are some exceptions, none of which apply here. Also, if a car does not pass smog requirements, the buyer can’t register it.

On June 28, 2020 at 1:45 p.m., George texted Singh, “Has the car passed smog?”

Singh replies, “Yes, everything done. Registration update smog done.”

After the sale was completed, Singh promised to send George the smog certificate and then admitted that he never had one, claiming it wasn’t necessary. That was false.

“If an exception does not apply and a vehicle is sold without a valid smog certificate, then the sale is illegal, void, unenforceable, subject to rescission and a refund of the buyer’s money,” attorney William N. Blasser of Claremont observes.

“But if the seller falsely claims to have had the vehicle smogged, and the buyer relies on that representation, this is fraud and unless the deal is promptly unwound, punitive damages could be awarded in a trial.”

I would add, given the loss of $23,000, criminal prosecution could not be ruled out.

‘Tough!’

When George discovered what had happened, he offered to return the car for a refund, only to be told, in so many words, “Tough! You bought a used car.”

This led his mom, Amy, to retain Eureka attorney, Bill Bertain who sent Singh a letter asking that this sale be rescinded and the money returned to George.

And this is where the case gets even more interesting, adding one more reason the reputation of lawyers in America is so low.

Singh retained Attorney Jason Crockford of Madera who replied in a letter which effectively said, “Pound sand. The answer is no. Your client could have had the car examined by a mechanic but did not, and I strenuously deny Jasdeep breached his duty to provide a smog certificate.”

Of course, not having the car examined by a mechanic is irrelevant to the smog certificate requirements of California law.

I spoke with Crockford and heard him gasp when informed of the smog texts. To his credit, he no longer represents Singh.

After that rejection, Bertain filed suit and Singh went on to hire Fresno attorney Jaskaran Gill.

What should happen?

As basic fairness requires giving all parties a chance to explain themselves, I repeatedly requested an interview with Gill’s client and was refused.

Lawyers want to believe their clients. But exposed to the light of objectivity, when it becomes clear a client has not been truthful and there is no merit to their position, to continue unjustified, expensive litigation exposes both the attorney and client to court-imposed, costly penalties.

Our job should be to help resolve disputes, not drag them out. No lawyer should ever forget that.

Stay tuned.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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A recent column generated a large and highly positive response from readers, who saw in themselves, friends and family members, the same young man we wrote about.

According to his mother, “Our adult son either has become or is on the way to becoming an alcoholic, constantly out with his drinking friends, making us terrified that we will get a call from the police that he was killed in an accident or arrested.”

The message in that article from Educational Psychologist — “Dr. Ken,” 34 years sober — was simple:

“Do you really want to stop the cycle of madness and insanity that is alcoholism, then this young man must give up a lot of his old life. He has got to be able to say-and act on-I want to find something new. This can be through church, school, you name it, and simply be around people who do not drink,” he maintains.

“If all your friends have in common is drinking, then try showing up and have no money. Just see how long that social contact lasts,” Dr. Ken pointed out.

Lawyers can help young alcoholics but are often enablers

“When a young alcoholic actually spends time in jail for DUI or public intoxication, this is often be the best medicine. They have an easier time in quitting, usually getting the point that jail is a very bad place to be once.

“Often parents or grandparents urge the attorney-who they have hired — to obtain a real jail sentence-just a couple of weekends-but many lawyers refuse, saying they cannot ethically do that. But lawyers who understand what works at a young age, will absolutely convey that request to the judge “When continued destructive behavior is enabled-getting them work release instead of jail time for that first offense-lawyers are not helping, in my opinion,” Dr. Ken believes.

“Keep telling ’em the truth, what they need to hear”

Proof of the need for more honesty from the legal profession, caring less about a fee than in helping your client face consequences and change behavior — came to our office in a letter from Tom.

It had a July, 2013 postmark, yet took 27 years for him to write it.

Dear Mr. Beaver:

I’m not sure if you are the same attorney I went to years ago, if not, I apologize; but if you handled DUI cases, then I think you are the right person.

It was 1986, I was 22 years old, facing my third DUI and came to you looking for a defense, a technicality, an out. You had no mercy, telling me I was an alcoholic, that I should have been scared to death after number two and I better pull my head out and realize it!

I was shocked, offended and dismayed all at once; you were supposed to help me get off!

But you were right.

I wish I could say that I learned my lesson there, in your office, but it took me many more years and quite a few stints in jail to make me realize you were right! I’m only glad to say that I never hurt anyone, but myself.

I always remembered your speech and have thought about writing this letter for years. I don’t think you do DUI’s anymore, but if you do, keep telling them the truth, keep telling them what they need to hear. You may just save a life or two.

Thanks for putting a bug in my ear that never went away. God Bless. Tom T. Los Angeles, California.”

And what became of Tom?

You might wonder “What became of Tom, and the DUI charge he faced then?” We certainly did, Googled him, called and told him how great it felt to receive his letter.

“All these years I never thanked you for being honest with me. Had I admitted my fault and paid the price, my father would have saved thousands of dollars on a lawyer who took our money and I still went to jail – which is where I belonged! If I listened to you my life would have been so different!

“I just had to write you! I started to write that letter so many times, but felt embarrassed.”

So, what are you doing now?

“I woke up in my 40s and became an R.N. a little over three years ago. Working in a hospital, I get to help people, instead of putting them at risk, driving drunk.”

Tom had no way of knowing the good that his letter has accomplished, shown to young clients on a collision course with disaster.

Some things do get better with age.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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It is legal for a lawyer to secretly record a conversation with clients? How about a client, or a client’s friend, making the recording and not informing the lawyer?

If you’re thinking, “President Trump and his former lawyer, Michael Cohen,” then we are on the same page.

It depends upon the state where the recording was made. Eleven states, including California, require consent of everyone recorded. In most others, only one person’s permission is needed, and that is usually the person making the recording.

But what happens when that required consent wasn’t obtained, and a recording reveals some truly rotten legal advice given to a client in a divorce case?

A Hanford reader played that kind of a recording for me recently, confirming all that I had been told about a certain Central Valley divorce attorney.

“You want to cause him grief? I’m your guy.”

“I accompanied my sister to a consultation with a divorce lawyer known for being a jerk. Neither she nor the attorney knew I was recording it. I was shocked to hear the lawyer tell my sister to say all kinds of false things about her husband to get a kick-out order and temporary support even though she has hidden a small fortune from him.

“He’s a good guy, and sis has mental issues. Is this a common practice among divorce lawyers? What does this say about the legal profession? What should I do with this recording? Thanks, Brian.”

Where does the blame lie for unethical lawyering?

I am often asked if the American Legal System is more dedicated to the care and feeding of lawyers than in helping people solve their problems, especially in divorce cases. If true, where does blame lie? What role, if any, do clients play?

Lawyers profit from disputes which often aren’t handled in a mature manner by unreasonable people. When you and your neighbor have a problem and refuse to make a good faith effort to resolve it, you just improved the lawyer’s bottom line.

Late with the rent or don’t pay a bill that you owe, a legal secretary somewhere gets a larger Christmas bonus. And when you hire a lawyer know for unnecessarily causing the other side grief – dragging things out – both attorneys make a lot of money at the clients’ expense.

Over the years, this column has pointed out that what clients want from the legal system often dictates what they will get. Want to punish your spouse? Easy, just hire an attorney who has a reputation for making the other side go through hell. And please, don’t worry about what you are doing to the kids. Get even now.

If you claim to have deep religious views, set them aside and have fun seeking revenge. Or, as I was once told, “What I want you to do isn’t very Biblical, but the Lord has forgiven me.” My reply? “Please show me a fax or email from the Lord proving that, and, by the way, prisons are filled with people claiming to be forgiven. Judges don’t see it that way.”

“It’s a matter of principal.”

If, during your initial consultation, you state, in so many words, “I really want to cause the other side pain… it’s a matter of principle,” you’ve just opened yourself up to being taken advantage of by a system that will let you pay for revenge.

Isn’t it much better to say, “I want an objective recommendation: Will the expense justify this action? I don’t want your opinion as my lawyer, but as a judge.” Remember that as in medicine, second legal opinions are a very good idea, particularly in hotly contested divorce/custody cases.

Recognize that there is a built-in conflict of interest between client and lawyer. The more work performed, the more the attorney makes. As you are seeking second or even third opinions, pay careful attention to the attorney who tries to discourage you from litigation. You may have hit upon that gem of a lawyer who cares about honesty and advice that is best for the client.

It is hard to send away a client who has money to burn, and the real problem with our adversarial system is that it discourages lawyers from really asking the hard question, “Is this truly best for the client?”

So my advice in the selection of an attorney is fairly simple. Find a lawyer who tells you in so many words, “Yes, you could file suit, but why? What are you really going to gain? Why not save the money and take your family on a nice vacation?”

And our advice to Brian? “You have violated California Penal Code 632, face a year in jail and a $2,500 fine. Destroy it and help your sister find an ethical attorney lawyer.”

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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An attorney you have been referred to is aware that no provable, underlying reason to file that suit exists, yet states, “They aren’t going to want to spend money on defending it, and will pay us to go away.”

Just how much trouble could you be in if the defendant takes the case to trial and you lose? What impact can a baseless lawsuit have on your life?

Purchased 2011 Nissan Leaf from a pawn shop

In December of 2016 “Teddy” purchased an all-electric 2011 Nissan Leaf “as is” from a pawn shop for $6,000.

Asking no questions about the vehicle – you read correctly, no questions about the vehicle at all, none, zip, nada — Teddy used his debit card to make one cash payment and the car was delivered the next day to him in a Southern California city where summer temperatures can reach 115 degrees.

“When the Leaf arrived and I began to drive it, the power gauge revealed my battery to be very weak. I called the seller, explaining that something was wrong, but they told me the car was purchased with no warranty. That was when my nightmare started,” he told us.

You might be thinking, “Well, surely he did some research on the vehicle before buying it, right?” Wrong. For if Teddy had performed any kind of due diligence before saying goodbye to $6,000, he would have discovered that in 2013 Leaf batteries began to fail in hot climates and were replaced with one more heat tolerant. The car was also the subject of a major class action against Nissan.

He would have learned that, for a while, Nissan was offering owners a replacement battery and extended favorable pricing of a new, improved one for several years.

Had he taken the vehicle to a Nissan dealer to be inspected, he would also have been told that by 2016 it would cost him $8,000 to buy a new battery.

So why did he not? Famous last words: “The price was great!”

Looking for someone to blame, the legal insurance program offered by his employer referred him to attorney “Elliot.”

“We’ll sue for misrepresentation!”

In their first meeting, Elliott confirmed that his fees would be paid by the legal insurance and off to the races he went, soon billing $10,000, filing suit against the pawn shop in early 2017 and leaving Teddy with the impression that, even if the seller had made no misleading statements – and had no reason to know of the Leaf’s condition — they would settle instead of defending the baseless suit.

Then, the attorney had no further communication with Teddy who was referred to our office by his legal insurance, bringing “The only thing Elliot’s office had in my file – a copy of the five-page lawsuit.”

Searching his county’s Superior Court’s website, we found the suit, as well as the fact that his lawyer was fined by the court for refusing to appear at a Show Cause Hearing. He did not have the lawsuit served on the defendant and ignored a court order to do so. This guy’s online reviews should have scared Teddy away, but once again, he did no research.

“Teddy,” we asked, “How could you go along with this if you knew the seller did nothing wrong?” “I trusted the lawyer, thinking he knew more than me. I mean, he’s a lawyer, after all! I just wanted my money back.”

Lacking probable cause can lead to malicious prosecution

Before a lawsuit is filed, the person bringing it and their lawyer must have reasonable grounds –probable cause – to think it is legitimate and has a chance of winning. When you know that probable cause does not exist, this is Malicious Prosecution.

If a suit is filed in bad faith where your purpose is to extort money from the defendant, we call this Abuse of Process.

The consequences for Teddy could be serious if the matter went to court and he lost, as the pawn shop could recover their attorney fees from him.

Employment background check would discover the suit

“When the suit is discovered in an employment background check, any employer would question his lack of good judgment and apparent immaturity in failing to exercise due diligence before buying the vehicle,” Santa-Maria, California-based private investigator Riley Parker commented.

He concluded, “Teddy bought a pig in a poke, got into a mess and his solution is to sue somebody. Would you want someone like this working in your company?”

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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February 6, 2016 • By Dennis Beaver

For the many lawyers who read this column, in the next few minutes, wander the corridors of memory with me, to those hectic weeks before final exams during the first year at law school.

It is a time of intense review, study group meetings, and a common practice in law schools across America; allowing students the opportunity to review the complexity and broad scope of previous final exam essay questions, many of the same issues reappearing on new tests.

At my school, Loyola, in downtown Los Angeles, these exams — many going back years — were kept in a blue binder, which the librarian handed to any student who requested them. Over to the photocopier you’d walk, deposit a few coins, and make your copies.

This gives first-year students much more than a glimpse of what final exams look like. For with the law school’s blessing is the chance to analyze the structure and content of prior tests and is of incredible value. I am sure that without that opportunity, many would have done a lot worse on their finals.

I saw my study group friend, let’s call him Steve, with his girlfriend, at the photocopy machine, making copies.

They lived together in a beautifully furnished apartment near the campus that was always well stocked with great wine, expensive cheese and other goodies, courtesy — I was told — of his parents. During one of these study sessions, Steve said something that I thought was either twisted humor or a disgusting reason to study law, “Once we pass the Bar, it will be license to screw people over.”

When he said that, I studied his face, realizing that he looked like a rat! He really looked like an overgrown, beady-eyed rat! As I would soon discover, his appearance revealed a potential future lawyer, lacking ethics, integrity, and morality.

Several days later, I tried to make a few copies, but everything the machine produced was unreadable and smeared, completely worthless. But Steve was dutifully copying all the first-year exams in the folder, helped by his girlfriend. She was lovely, with a sweet face that revealed little emotion as she and Steve replaced the clean originals with garbage.

She was also very pregnant.

The consequences of what they were doing was sickeningly obvious. It went beyond cheating. This was immorality on a scale that could impact the entire first year class.

“How can you do this?” I asked them. “How can you help him do this to all his classmates? I have been to your apartment many times. How do you justify doing this to me and your friends in our study group?” I asked her in a tone of voice that did not exactly seek a reply.

“Don’t you get it? You are carrying his child and not married. The way he is treating others is how he will treat you when, not if, but when things turn bad. Put the originals back now!”

We had studied cases about people who do precisely these kinds of things in contracts and torts, and yet here I was, staring into the faces of a couple with no sense of morality. Were Steve to pass the bar, he would indeed use his license the way he described. “Put the originals back now, Steve,” I repeated, over and over again. “Put them back now or I will go to the Dean’s Office. It’s your choice.”He looked at me, laughed nervously, and put them all back. As insurance that he would not return later and try the same thing, I walked directly to where the head librarian was standing, looked in Steve’s direction, talked about the weather, but made large hand gestures, as if I were making photocopies. Steve, I’m sure, got the message. The librarian probably thought that I was suffering from pre-exam jitters.

Twice daily until finals were over, I checked the blue folder. The originals remained in place.

Steve flunked out of school. I had never wished that a classmate would fail, but I did in his case.

Most attorneys who demolish their reputations usually wait until after graduation from law school and being sworn in as a member of the Bar. Steve was ahead of the curve. Had he actually become a lawyer, no matter how able or brilliant, were our paths to cross, the only image of him in my mind would still be that of a thief.

It is one of the most fragile things we possess, our reputation: Our reputation with classmates who will become colleagues, partners, and the judges before whom we will stand. Handle it with care.

Across my years of practice, I’ve found that most do.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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“Mr. Beaver, several years ago you wrote a story about a lawyer’s reputation – how valuable it is. As a Superior Court Judge in our small Southern town for over 20 years, that is what I tell the law graduates who successfully passed the most recent bar examination when they assemble in my chambers and take the Attorney’s Oath.

“The idea that law is a profession and our duty is to help clients and their families through some of the most difficult moments of their lives is a foreign concept to many young lawyers. It seems as if the only thing most think about is becoming wealthy as soon as possible – and cutting ethical corners is no big deal.

“I have handed each of these newly minted attorneys a copy of your story. In just a few weeks, bar results will be out, and if your editors will reprint that wonderful story it might do some real good as the message applies not only to lawyers.” Thanks, ‘E.J.’, Georgia.

For the many lawyers who read this column, in the next few minutes, wander the corridors of memory with me to those hectic weeks before final exams during the first year at law school.

It is a time of intense review, study group meetings, and a common practice in law schools across America; allowing students the opportunity to review the complexity and broad scope of previous final exam essay questions, many of the same issues reappearing on new tests.

At my school, Loyola in downtown Los Angeles, these exams — many going back years — were kept in a blue binder, which the librarian handed to any student who requested them. Over to the photocopier you’d walk, deposit a few coins, and make your copies.

This gives first-year students much more than a glimpse of what final exams look like.

For with the law school’s blessing is the chance to analyze the structure and content of prior tests and is of incredible value. I am sure that without that opportunity, many would have done a lot worse on their finals.

I saw my study group friend, let’s call him Steve, with his girlfriend, at the photocopy machine, making copies.

They lived together in a beautifully furnished apartment near the campus that was always well stocked with great wine, expensive cheese and other goodies, courtesy — I was told — of his parents. During one of these study sessions, Steve said something that I thought was either twisted humor or a disgusting reason to study law, “Once we pass the Bar, it will be license to screw people over.”

When he said that, I studied his face, realizing that he looked like a rat! He really looked like an overgrown, beady-eyed rat! As I would soon discover, his appearance revealed a potential future lawyer lacking ethics, integrity, and morality.

Several days later, I tried to make a few copies, but everything the machine produced was unreadable and smeared, completely worthless. But Steve was dutifully copying all the first-year exams in the folder, helped by his girlfriend. She was lovely, with a sweet face that revealed little emotion as she and Steve replaced the clean originals with garbage.

She was also very pregnant.

The consequences of what they were doing was sickeningly obvious. It went beyond cheating. This was immorality on a scale that could impact the entire first year class.

“How can you do this?” I asked them. “How can you help him do this to all his classmates? I have been to your apartment many times. How do you justify doing this to me and your friends in our study group?” I asked her in a tone of voice that did not exactly seek a reply.

“Don’t you get it? You are carrying his child and not married. The way he is treating others is how he will treat you when, not if, but when things turn bad. Put the originals back now!”

We had studied cases about people who do precisely these kinds of things in contracts and torts, and yet here I was, staring into the faces of a couple with no sense of morality.

Were Steve to pass the bar, he would indeed use his license the way he described. “Put the originals back now, Steve,” I repeated, over and over again. “Put them back now or I will go to the Dean’s Office. It’s your choice.”

He looked at me, laughed nervously, and put them all back. As insurance that he would not return later and try the same thing, I walked directly to where the head librarian was standing, looked in Steve’s direction, talked about the weather, but made large hand gestures, as if I were making photocopies.

Steve, I’m sure, got the message. The librarian probably thought that I was suffering from pre-exam jitters.

Twice daily until finals were over, I checked the blue folder. The originals remained in place.

Steve flunked out of school. I had never wished that a classmate would fail, but I did in his case.

Most attorneys who demolish their reputations usually wait until after graduation from law school and being sworn in as a member of the Bar. Steve was ahead of the curve.

Had he actually become a lawyer, no matter how able or brilliant, were our paths to cross, the only image of him in my mind would still be that of a thief.

It is one of the most fragile things we possess, our reputation: Our reputation with classmates who will become colleagues, partners, and the judges before whom we will stand. Handle it with care.

Across my years of practice, I’ve found that most do.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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Sharon is an extremely busy, solo estate planning and corporate attorney in a San Joaquin Valley town that does not have a surplus of lawyers with her level of skill.

“But a highly successful law practice can also be somewhat of a curse,” observes San Joaquin College of Law Professor Rose Safarian.

“When a lawyer accepts more work than can comfortably be taken care of, unless another attorney is brought onboard, it’s an invitation to making mistakes or dropping your clients.”

“And there is a right way and a very wrong way to do this,” she adds.

A Monday her clients will never forget

“Roger,” who practices medicine in Sharon’s town, learned all about the wrong way of telling a client to find a new lawyer, when:

“Stepping into my office on a Monday morning, on my desk, were our files — files which had been in her office. No warning — she just dumped us after 10 years handling our business matters and family estate plan! I phoned her, but she did not even have the courtesy to take my call.

“I had to scramble to find another attorney; because of family health issues, we were about to make important changes. This can’t be the way lawyers should treat their clients, or is it?” he asked You and the Law.

As we would learn from other readers, it was a Monday many of Sharon’s clients will never forget, wondering, “What did I do wrong?”

But they had done nothing wrong.

Sharon was seen at a local supermarket — and confronted by a former client who tearfully asked, “Why did you do this to me? Why didn’t you call and explain yourself?”

Offering no apology, Sharon’s excuse was, “I needed to slow down.”

There is a right way of dropping a client

“Before a lawyer even considers withdrawing from employment, steps must be taken to avoid harm to the client,” observes Paul Hayden, professor of consumer protection law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

“An attorney must give notice, allow time for the client to find another lawyer, and, of course, return the file.”

Safarian agrees, adding, “If you just hand them their files with no advance notice, your license to practice law could easily be at risk.”

“And it’s not a matter of actual harm resulting,” Hayden points out. “A lawyer who did that could be disciplined for a failure to give notice whether or not actual harm occurred.”

A lawyer assuming that nothing is going on invites trouble

“Reasonable notice depends on the stage the matter is at,” Hayden notes. “If it’s at a crucial point, requiring some action — let’s say, you are facing a critical time limit — then a longer notice would have to be given. But if the case has ended, or nothing will need to be done for a long time, then short notice would be adequate.”

“Especially in estate planning matters,” observes Safarian, “it is dangerous for a lawyer to assume that nothing is going on — this is an invitation to real trouble.”

• Perhaps the client has a serious illness and needs to make changes to the estate plan immediately.

• Sudden, critical events do occur. Returning client files with no warning can put the client’s estate plan at risk, leading to great worry and significant financial loss.

• Clients do face emergency surgery or illness, which can lead to mental impairment and the urgent need for a durable power of attorney so that someone in their family can do the things that they are no longer able to handle. There may be no time to find a new lawyer.

• In that hour of need, we trust our lawyer to be there for us. The last thing any client wants is to feel abandoned at this most difficult time.

The duty to protect a client’s interests continues

“In all things that we do as lawyers, we are held to the highest duty the law knows. It is called the fiduciary duty and requires that we place the interests of our client ahead of our own. We are hired to protect our clients, not to harm them, and this duty continues into the act of withdrawing as counsel.

“The public relations consequences not only to Sharon, but to the profession itself, are horrible. We are supposed to act in a way which promotes professionalism. How she treated her clients clearly goes against that,” Hayden concluded.

There is a flip side to this coin, and that’s the client’s obligation of maintaining good communication with the attorney, keeping up to speed on the progress of the case, or merely to checking in from time to time.

Is it right to be billed for that? We’ll have the answer next time.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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February 24, 2026  • By Dennis Beaver

When several contract medical professionals at a major West Coast health care center were informed they would be required — and not paid — to attend a six-hour OSHA safety course, plus a one-hour in-house course on email phishing, I heard about it from multiple people. Needless to say, they were not happy, so they complained to management.

But it gets worse. One of the people who reached out to me wrote that after the complaints, “The CFO announced, ‘We figured a way around that. We’ll just have our intermediary log on and take the test(s).’ That’s not only (deceptive), but identity theft! Dennis, can you imagine that?”

Yes, I sure can. It looks like this: “Will the responsible person please raise their hand? Good. Now, go home, grab a toothbrush and kiss your family goodbye, because you might be going away for quite some time.”

This situation is perplexing for another reason: These medical professionals can each easily generate $2 million in revenue yearly, sometimes far more. So requiring them to pay for the required courses leads me to conclude that management was standing behind the door when common sense was handed out.

When your family doctor is owned by private equity

Do you have a family doctor? Probably not in the sense of a doctor who has her own general practice right downtown, is her own boss and makes her own medical decisions about your family’s welfare. It’s likely that a private equity firm, “Big Medicine” (what I’m calling the firm that owns the health care center I’m writing about) purchased her practice, and she now works for, and is beholden to, their bottom line.

It is no secret that the major consolidation of physicians’ offices and regional medical facilities — especially in radiology and cancer treatment — has been linked to patient dissatisfaction and significantly higher rates of unhappiness and burnout among physicians.

Anyone who doubts that should check out the report The Harm from Private Equity’s Takeover of Medical Practices and Hospitals by Andrew Schlafly, general counsel for the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons.

One physician friend compared what is happening to American medicine as “a version of the 1958 movie The Blob, in which a gelatinous alien from a crashed meteor begins consuming everything in its path.” (It’s a great flick, by the way, and free to watch online.)

Mr. CFO, will you please talk to me?

Of course, I wanted to verify what my medical sources were saying, so I phoned the main office where they work and asked to speak with the CFO, but wouldn’t you know it? He was too busy. So, I left my number so he could call me when he had some time to talk, and it has been days with no return call.

Next, I called the headquarters of Big Medicine, reached its equivalent of a media spokesperson’s office and left a polite request for a callback. You can guess how that turned out. Very few corporate employees are going to admit to a journalist, “Yeah, we were going to commit the kind of fraud that could land one of us in the slammer.”

Analysis from a labor and employment attorney

Over the years, several labor and employment attorneys have become friends of this column, providing insight into job-related issues that have greatly helped my readers.

When I ran what I knew by “Kate,” in Dallas, she said, “It is difficult to believe that management would be so reckless to save a few dollars, have an employee fraudulently assume the identities of these physicians and take the tests.

“But stupid, cheapskate decisions by people who should know better pay (attorneys’) bills.” (Kate asked not to be identified so she could speak bluntly.)

I asked her, “Does it make a difference if the medical professionals were actual employees or working as independent contractors and their employment agreement specified they were responsible for the cost of all required government tests or continuing medical educational expenses?”

She had a commonsense answer. “What their contract specified is not the issue,” she replied. “Trying to commit fraud on OSHA and assuming the identities of the physicians — that is the essence of what could boomerang down hard on whoever came up with that idiotic idea.”

What the employers face

If the people at this business actually carry out this fraudulent plan, they might want to know that submitting false documentation to OSHA regarding employee safety training constitutes a willful violation that can lead to criminal prosecution, up to five years in prison and substantial fines of more than $156,000 per violation. Knowingly falsifying records regarding training is a federal crime.

Whistleblower protections for reporting fake OSHA compliance

You would be surprised at the number of business owners we have briefly had as clients who were little more than crooks with a city business license, where providing safety equipment or being truthful on CAL-OSHA filings was seen as merely optional.

When employees discover these shenanigans, they feel torn between protecting their own jobs and reporting violations, which often include:

• Creating records of safety inspections or training classes that never occurred

• Falsely dating maintenance logs to mask missed servicing

• Hiding workplace illness or injury reports to conceal accidents

So, what can employees, like my readers, do?

First, gather evidence — copies of fake reports and photos — and store them in the cloud, under your own control rather than on a company-issued cellphone.

Report this to OSHA or your state’s version of OSHA. Both offer protection for whistleblowers.

Your employer would love for you to first speak with Human Resources or the compliance office where you work. However, most employment attorneys I know recommend against that to avoid retaliation, which happens even though it is illegal.

It is also a good idea to speak with an employment lawyer before making these reports, but you’ve got to be careful. Research the firm and individual lawyer(s) to see what other kinds of cases they handle.

You’ll want to avoid any personal injury mills across the country that advertise “We’ll fight for you,” even if they claim to specialize in employer-retaliation suits.

I would also highly recommend you check out my article Beyond the Bar: Your 5-Step Guide to Discovering Whether a Lawyer Is Shady.

Dennis Beaver Practices law in Bakersfield and welcomes comments and questions from readers,
which may be faxed to (661) 323-7993,
or e-mailed to Lagombeaver1 – at – Gmail.com.

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