A Bedford attorney has been disbarred by the State Bar of Texas following accusations he failed to render appropriate legal services to an elderly client.
Stephen C. “Steve” Brewer is no longer eligible to practice law after he “neglected the legal matter entrusted to him by failing to perform any meaningful legal services on behalf of the complainant” in a probate matter, according to an order of default disbarment.
Brewer, which board documents list as 49 years old, could not be reached for comment at his home and his law office phone is disconnected.
Brewer was accused of professional misconduct when he failed to keep his client reasonably informed about the status of a case and to promptly comply with requests for information, the bar said.
He was ordered to pay his client $3,500 in restitution and about $2,300 in attorney’s fees and costs to the bar.
The woman who filed the complaint, a senior citizen who asked not to be named because her case is ongoing, said she believed Brewer may have been dealing with personal problems and that she just “wanted him to take care of my business.” “Maybe he chose the wrong way to deal with” his problems, she said.
“I did not get any joy out of him getting disbarred,” she said.
Other disciplinary actions as reported by the bar:
In April, George M. Barnes, 57, of Fort Worth, accepted a 14-month probated suspension. Barnes, a former assistant Attorney General in charge of special litigation for the Child Support Division, was accused of neglecting a family law case, the bar said. Barnes failed to promptly comply with reasonable requests for information from complainant about her family law matter, the bar said. He was ordered to pay $1,181.25 in attorney’s fees and $1,058 in restitution.
Barnes practices consumer bankruptcy and family law. Barnes said the complaint arose over a difference of opinion between himself and a client and he refunded her money. He said he did not neglect the case. The main problem was he missed one deadline to respond to the bar, he said. Sooner or later, it happens, Barnes said. “It’s taken me over 30 years to get a complaint that went anywhere,” he said.
And our favorite: In February, the Supreme Court of Texas accepted the resignation, in lieu of discipline, of Anthony Paul Calisi, 59, of Dallas. He was facing five pending matters. Most involved Calisi being hired for criminal matters and then ignoring clients’ requests for information before closing his office without telling them.
The highlight: Calisi was hired for a criminal case but failed to notify his client about a trial date, which got the client arrested for failure to appear.
Calisi was ordered to pay $22,550 in restitution.
Attribution:
State Bar: Bedford attorney disbarred, ex-assistant AG in Fort Worth suspended
Darren Barbee
June 11, 2012
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://blogs.star-telegram.com/investigations/2012/06/state-bar-bedford-attorney-disbarred-ex-assistant-ag-in-fort-worth-suspended.html#storylink=cpy
Estate of Denial® provides news, analysis and commentary on abusive practices occurring in probate courts and via probate instruments (wills, trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney). We provide original perspective to educate the public regarding this growing threat to both individual freedoms and property rights.