An Attorney Interrupted-Day 11

A happy Friday to everyone. May your weekend be all that you want and expect it to be. May you show love to a stranger.

With that said, I will share with you how I continued to fight a corrupt system in Arkansas, with little success. I was a sole practitioner for many years. I enjoyed it this way, as I did not want to integrate my practice with a large firm. I had in previous years clerk for a judge, and worked at a large defense firm, in Detroit. I am very familiar with the way it works. The law clerk does all of the research and most of the writing and the attorneys take all the credit. The attorneys pay menial wages to the clerks but bill the clients thousands of dollars for worked researched and authored by the clerks. I wanted to do my own work.

Moreover, I decided to work for the average person, who really has limited knowledge to defend or represent him or herself. I started representing these people. Eventually, certain caucasian attorneys, who dominate the legal market in Arkansas, began to hear about me. They wanted to eliminate and/or limit their competition. In fact, I actually got a phone call from one attorney in Arkansas. He asked me if I really was an attorney. When I questioned his authority to even ask me anything, he slammed the phone down. A few weeks later, I received a notice in the mail that a complaint had been file against me. This is just one example of what I personally experienced as an attorney in Arkansas.

I tried to reduce my clients' legal expenses. In other words, save them money. I started a program whereby, if a party wanted to file for a divorce, and it was uncontested, I would prepare all of the legal documents for the client. The client would go to court and represent him or herself. He/She would only have to show up in court, answer a few questions, and have their divorce decree ready for the judge to execute. I prepared many of these documents for clients and had no problems.

I prepared ALL of the paperwork for the client. I charged a small fee for the preparation of the documents. But a problem ensued when a client from a rural area of the state went to court. This client, who lived in a predominately white area, presented herself in court. The judge, a white male, questioned the whereabouts of her attorney. When she told the judge that her attorney was not showing up, the judge queried her about what she supposedly paid her attorney. This person lied and told the judge that she paid an amount of money, that she really did not pay. The judge called my office and ordered me to court, the next day, I believe.

When I enter his court room, this judge, who had probably had very limited contact with African Americans, look at me and scolded me on being an irresponsible attorney, for not showing up with my client. I tried, unsuccessfully, to explain to him that I only prepared the paperwork and that the client did not pay for me to represent her in court, but paid ONLY for me to prepare the documents for court. I further explained that a person has the right to represent him/herself. This judge blew up and told me not to challenge his authority on the law.

A month or so later, I received another complaint in the mail from the Committee on Professional Conduct. I was shocked and outraged. I tried many times to fight this unjust system, but to no avail. This continued for several years. I found myself spending the bulk of my time responding to complaints as opposed to representing the clients that hired me. It was having a toll upon me and my income.

The real power was in the hands of unjust men and I knew that fighting them had become a waist of my time. So I decided to file a federal lawsuit. I filed a lawsuit against the Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct, all of the Supreme Court Justices, and the Executive Director, for discrimination, retaliation and other causes of action. However, the federal court eventually dismissed my lawsuit on the basis of not exhausting all of my state remedies.

I was tired. My income had been depleted, and I was fighting a legal machine, that had absolute power and control of the legal authority in Arkansas. I thought long and hard. I knew it was time for me to move forward and leave Arkansas behind. I was unsure how I would repair my damaged name, by these unfounded complaints and subsequent punishment. I left Arkansas when a friend invited me to Florida, because he said...."it is paradise".

We must do what is right even if we stand alone.

L. for Love