You Want ME to Pay Taxes?

Chicago, IL

CPAs licensed to practice law

Multi-million dollar clients wishing to avoid taxes

What to you think happens?



In June, 2009, five individuals from the Chicago area and two others were indicted by the U.S. Attorney's office on 27 counts including tax evasion and conspiracy to defraud the IRS.

These seven individuals allegedly developed, marketed, and executed complex tax shelters designed to fool the IRS into thinking they were legitimate.  These tax shelters gave the appearance to the IRS that wealthy individuals had sustained losses that would then prevent them from paying government taxes.  The defendants also participated in these schemes and, over the course of ten years, produced over $7.3 billion in false and fraudulent tax losses.

The attorneys and CPAs convinced their clients that if the IRS came a'knocking, they were protected by letters from the firm.

In these days of intense government spending, uncertain tax futures, and high unemployment, the last thing we need is licensed individuals in positions of trust fleecing the government.  I know that every profession has its bad apples, but these lawyers who allegedly acted in this way took it to an entirely new level.

Read the press release here.


This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.

Something's Fishy Around Here

Suppose that one day you or your company needs legal representation for some matter.  You are the person assigned to be in contact with legal counsel and her staff and as the case progresses (or doesn't in some instances), you suspect that the lawyer is not performing her job for any number of reasons.  What should you do?

1.  Attempt to minimize the damage caused by the attorney.  You can request that the attorney take action to remedy her error and then seek a second opinion from another attorney.

2.  Contact a legal malpractice attorney.  Before stomping into your attorney's office in a tirade, sit down with another attorney who knows how to handle the preservation of evidence and the rules of the court.  Wouldn't it be great is the former attorney destroyed all paper records and wiped her hard drives clean?  While files would still be recoverable, it would be at great time and cost.

3.  Obtain a copy of your file.  Every client is entitled to the original copy of his or her file.  The attorney may make a copy, but it must be at her expense.  A good malpractice lawyer will handle this for you.

4.  Participate in the malpractice case.  You will meet with the malpractice attorneys initially and may have to attend a deposition and trial if the case is not settled out of court.

Most legal malpractice attorneys are on contingency fees, meaning that they do not get paid unless they win money for their client, you.  This makes filing a claim cost less at the outset.

The following claims may be considered malpractice:

• Failure to follow a statute of limitations
• Failure to follow other important court deadlines
• Failure to handle client funds properly
• Failure to recuse oneself from a case when a conflict of interest arises
• Failure to prosecute a case resulting in dismissal
• Failure to act in a competent and experienced manner
• Failure to advise the client of his of her options
• Failure to gather the needed evidence to prosecute a case

Remember, attorneys, even good ones, make mistakes.  However, when it affects the outcome of your case you may want to pursue action for malpractice.  Contact a knowledgeable attorney before you take action.

Sources:

Simeone Miller

Fred B Goldberg

Salvi Maher

American Bar Association

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.

All in the Family

We have all learned in Ethics that it is unethical for a lawyer to represent both sides.  What if it is family and everyone trusts each other?  Would you still go through the trouble of obtaining your own legal counsel to do business with your parents?  The more I read, the more I know that I would.  No matter how good your relationship is with your family people sometimes make poor judgments that hurt others.  The following family learned this lesson the hard way:

In this case the plaintiff was working on a deal to sell his business to his son and daughter-in-law.  The purchase price would be calculated according to the profits of the business when it was under the control of his son.  The dilemma comes with the entrance of the attorney.  Not only was the attorney representing both parties, but he was also a member of the board of directors for the company.

The plaintiff alleged that the attorney failed to share information with him that showed the son and daughter-in-law participated in unauthorized actions to lower the value of the company.  The plaintiff's case was brought to trial and the presiding judge determined that the attorney had engaged in misconduct.

If you are interested in reading the case, the cite is:   50 A.D.3d 667.

The lesson learned in this instance is to take precautions in business, even when dealing with family members.

Legal Malpractice Article

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.

Follow My Lead

There is a common discussion among my classmates about who would like to go on to law school and become a licensed attorney.  I applaud those who have the desire and sincerely wish them the best in the pursuit of their dreams.  I, however, have no desire at this time to become an attorney. One of the largest reasons for this apparent complacency is the amount of responsibility that lawyers have.

No doubt, paralegals carry a great deal of responsibility, but they are always under the supervision of an attorney (at least in Ohio).  I like having the confidence that my work is checked (theoretically, at least) by an attorney who probably knows more about the law than me.  However, paralegals must be careful to make sure that their supervising attorneys are asking them only to perform tasks that are ethical.

 We are back in Norwalk, Connecticut this week (what is it about that town?), but this time with a different scenario.  In this instance, the attorney, Francis DiScala, asked his paralegal to help in deceiving two different clients.  First, DiScala asked his paralegal to cover up portions of a document that notified the client that she was entitled to independent counsel and had the right to sue for malpractice.  The client signed the document with no knowledge of her rights in these two areas.  Second, DiScala failed to file a complaint before the statute of limitations ran out on a different client's claim.  DiScala had his paralegal cover the same portions of the document as before when the second client signed.  DiScala also misled the client and told her he had actually settled the case and paid her $15,000 out of the firm's expense account.

 

DiScala was reprimanded by the Connecticut Statewide Greivance Committee but is still able to practice law.  The complaints can both be found here.

Now, if you were the paralegal and your supervising attorney asked you to do something you knew was unethical, how would you handle it?

The attorney has to run a business and keep making money to keep the doors open; the paralegal has bills to pay and wants to keep her job.  What would you do?

This blog is prepared by a paralegal student as a class project, without compensation. The content of this blog contains my opinion, and is offered for personal interest without warranty of any kind. Comments posted by others on this blog are the responsibility of the posters of those messages. The reader is solely responsible for verifying the content of this blog and any linked information. Content, sources, information, and links will most likely change over time. The content of this blog may not be construed as legal, medical, business, or personal advice.