W. Anthony Pearson
Allegation / charges
Reprimanded | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered January 24, 2015. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO: 231/2005 IN THE MATTER of LEILA VALENTINE and ANTHONY PEARSON an Attorney-at-Law AND IN THE MATTER …
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The Attorney represented the Complainant in the 1998 sale of her house. After completion, outstanding matters remained (interest on balance purchase price during early possession, and a refund of estate duties paid under protest). The Panel found the Attorney was never instructed to file suit and that the sale itself was dealt with expeditiously, so the 'due expedition' complaint was not established. However, the Attorney failed to respond to the Complainant's three letters (2000, 2002, 2005) requesting status updates, having led her to believe he was pursuing the outstanding matters. This breach of Canon IV(r) constituted professional misconduct under Canon VII. The Attorney was reprimanded and ordered to pay costs of $20,000.
Duties found breached:
Mitigating factors:
- The matter for which the Attorney was retained (the sale of the house) was dealt with due expedition
- The Complainant did not in fact instruct the Attorney to file suit
Duties engaged
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Documents
Source: https://www.generallegalcouncil.org/judgement/w-anthony-pearson-complaint-no-231-of-2005/