Humphrey Lee McPherson

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Respondent attorney, Humphrey McPherson, was retained under a 25% contingency fee arrangement and obtained judgment for the Complainant against the Attorney General of Jamaica. The Attorney General paid out JMD 6,410,612.11 in satisfaction of the judgment debt and interest, but the Respondent paid the Complainant only JMD 2,287,500.00, leaving a balance of JMD 2,520,459.08 (after accounting for the 25% contingency). Despite demand, the Respondent failed to account for or pay over the balance. The Respondent did not attend the hearing, file any affidavit, or respond to the complaint. The Panel found the allegations made out beyond a reasonable doubt and the Respondent guilty of professional misconduct on the specified Canons. The Panel adjourned to 6 March 2020 to deliver sanction; no sanction is stated in this decision. No express finding of dishonesty was made.

Duties found breached:

• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Keep client informed and respond promptly
• No improper use of client money