Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Home › News › Local News

Probate lawyer's disbarment upheld by state high court

By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 25, 2008 at 10:53 p.m.

Text size  

More Local News

More stories »

Denver probate lawyer Susan Haines has lost her license to practice for taking $70,000 from a client's estate and then lying under oath about it.

In a decision issued Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court upheld Haines' disbarment and ordered her to pay back $65,000.

"Haines by deceit and fraud seized the opportunity to pay herself a large amount of money without her client's authorization," the court ruled.

The court said it agreed with a hearing board finding that "Haines engaged in a course of conduct that constituted knowing misappropriation of estate funds and lied under oath in the hearing board's proceeding."

Haines was among several attorneys representing the estate of Dorothy Edouart in 2002 when a $200,000 settlement came in from litigation handled by another lawyer in Florida.

Although the lawyers involved in that case agreed to defer payment so that further litigation could be funded, Haines wrote herself two checks totaling $70,000, the court said.

Haines' involvement in the litigation was minimal and she was due only $4,000 from the case, the court said.

Haines' firm "had logged nearly $100,000 for administrative work done on behalf of the estate," the court's opinion said, before the litigation involving the Florida case arose.

Before the $200,000 settlement deposit was made, the estate had only $800 left in its account. After the deposit, Haines wrote checks to herself and others, leaving the account with $22,000.

Haines contended that she told others involved in the case that she intended to write the checks, but a hearing board found, and the Supreme Court agreed, that she was lying and had not done so.

The personal representative for the estate said he did not authorize any of the checks that Haines wrote to herself against the settlement, although he later authorized payment of less than $5,000 owed Haines for work in the Florida case.

When the $70,000 in checks were discovered, the personal representative and the attorney who handled the Florida case asked Haines to return the money. She refused and later filed bankruptcy.

Haines began practicing probate and elder law in Denver in 1984 and was a member of bar association committees on elder law issues.

She was disbarred on April 21, 2006, and her license to practice was suspended pending the outcome of her appeal.

lindsays@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5181

Comments

  • February 26, 2008

    9:09 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    airbornebigfoot writes:

    Lets see........ Former President Clinton is guilty of perjury.
    he even admitted to lying in his book published after he left office. is he incarcerated? of course not.
    There are two sets of criminal justice in America.
    actually, it should be labeled Justice & Just Us.
    two standards in the United States for criminal activity.
    And if your standing on the wrong side of the fence, you go to jail, and serve 90% of your time.
    if your fortunate enough to standing on the CORRECT side of the fence, you receive a multimillion dollar book deal.
    This attorney deserves prison for stealing from her client, and then lying under oath. but she also deserves to do her time with all of the other criminal attorneys out there,
    so send her to washington d.c.

  • February 26, 2008

    2:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Scott writes:

    theQ said, "This girl should be scrubbing toilets in a homeless shelter."

    While wearing a ball-n-chain and a jumper that is emblazoned with "CROOKED LAWYER." On second thought only "LAWYER". I just realized that I was being redundant ;-)

    So, all the lawyer lovers out there are now going to get their silk undies in a wad because I've made a disparaging comment about prostitutes (lawyers). Tell ya what lawyer-lovers, start putting these prostitutes in jail when they get caught and the prostitutes might start earning respect from us humans.

    Scott
    There are only three lawyer jokes in the world, the rest of the stories are true.