March 25, 2005

• _____________________________________________________________________

  I just found out that one of the attorneys I am familiar with in
  Spokane WA has been suspended for two years.  (I've never met Uche
  Umuolo, but we participate in some of the same volunteer programs, and
  he was prior counsel on of my current cases, so I always think of him
  on a first-name basis.)

  Here's a news article about it:

  http://www.spokesmanreview.com/tools/story_pf.asp?ID=59144

  While several things about the news article concern me, and I'll get to
  those in a minute, I am also VERY concerned about the harshness of the
  punishment as compared to the conduct at issue.  A two year
  suspension for holding on to $550???  And, undoubtedly, Uche
  returned that money when his error was pointed out to him.

  The "cultural differences" thing - I am not so sure of that.  In
  fact, it kind of offends me.  Why do we assume that someone from
  Nigeria has less of an understanding of business requirements and how
  to handle money.  Seems to me that this is perpetuating a
  stereotype.  I know several white attorneys here in the US, born
  and raised here, who have very little business acumen, and who have
  trouble balancing their own personal checkbooks, let alone handling the
  accounting for a law office.

  And this: "Mr. Umuolo does not rank as one of the top lawyers who have
  ever appeared before me, based on legal ability..."  We, as
  attorneys, are required to perform our duties at a certain level of
  professionalism.  If Uche isn't reaching that level, then that is
  a concern for all attorneys.  

  Yes, Uche gave selflessly of his time to the indigent of Spokane
  County.  He is a wonderful human being, that I must admit. 
  And I believe that he has been treated unfairly given the scope of his
  infraction.

  The mentoring thing?  Humph.  Most of us new, young, sole
  practitioners find it hard to get any significant help from any of the
  older attorneys...when we do call for help, we are often stuck
  listening to someone reminiscing about their days as a young
  lawyer.  Don't get me wrong, I love to hear those stories. 
  But please, PLEASE, PLEASE...if we call with a specific question, don't
  you think you could simply help us out, there, o' venerable one? 
  I, for one, have had some really good support from local attorneys, at
  least in general.  But when I've called with specific questions
  (which has been twice) the attorneys in question acted like I was
  imposing on them in a very significant way.  This AFTER they had
  offered to allow me to call them anytime, if I needed help or had
  questions.

  So, what do we do?

  Because I know I struggle daily with making sure things are done just
  right.  Not only in my accounting and other administrative stuff,
  but also in the procedural stuff that takes time to learn, etc.  

  Do we need to rethink the legal education process?  Make it more
  like medical school?  Where new attorneys spend several years
  after law school working as interns in law firms?  Might not be a
  bad idea.

  • 2:06 pm
  • 2 Comments