Beaumont attorney Mike Getz was named Newsmaker of the Year by the Press Club of Southeast Texas. Press Club Vice President of Programs Jennifer Walsh presented a trophy to Getz at the club’s annual banquet June 4.
The Press Club of Southeast Texas honored Beaumont attorney Mike Getz as the 2010 Newsmaker of the Year on Friday, June 3 at its 20th Annual Awards Banquet.
Getz was chosen by a vote of Press Club members from a field of five finalists as being the Southeast Texan who had the most significant positive impact on issues and events in 2010.
While Getz was a strong figure in the unsuccessful effort to stop the demolition of the former South Park High School, it was his leadership to change the way the Beaumont Independent School District trustees are elected that garnered him the most attention.
Getz led the charge and secured more than 10,000 signatures to include a referendum on the May 2011 ballot to change the Beaumont ISD board’s electoral system from seven single-member districts to five single districts with two at-large positions, like that of the city’s council delegation.
Getz and other leaders of the political action group called BETTER (Beaumonters Embracing Transition Toward Election Reform) met the signature goal in one of the biggest grass roots political efforts in the area.
In a massive citywide campaign, the group held numerous petition drives and Getz himself spent nearly every weekend collecting signatures or going door-to-door to garner enough signatures by the August 2010 deadline.
Last month, 54 percent of Beaumont voters approved the proposal for two at-large members. In that same election, Getz won the Ward 2 seat on Beaumont’s City Council.
Getz attended Lamar University and obtained a bachelor’s degree in secondary education in 1978. He earned a law degree in 1989 from the South Texas College of Law in Houston.
His law office is located in Beaumont.
An Eagle Scout, Getz is a member of the executive board of the Three Rivers Council, Boy Scouts of America.
He is also past president of the Y.M.C.A.-Downtown Beaumont, past president of Temple Emanuel Brotherhood and previously served on the executive board of Young Audiences and the board of directors of Beaumont Main Street.
NEW ORLEANS — It is illegal for a Texas attorney or medical professional to communicate with potential clients within 30 days of an accident or arrest, federal appellate justices ruled in a recent decision that upholds the constitutionality of Texas barratry laws.
On June 8, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a district judge’s ruling that the Texas Penal Code relating to barratry and solicitation of professional employment violates the Texas and U.S. Constitutions.
In law practice, barratry refers to the generation of profit for legal services by an attorney who stirs up a dispute and encourages lawsuits in order to file what is typically a groundless claim. It is illegal in all states.
In 2009, Houston attorney Christopher Villasana and Austin chiropractor Donald McKinley challenged the constitutionality of the state’s barratry code. They brought suit in the Western District of Texas seeking a declaratory judgment.
After a bench trial, a district court judge entered judgment for them, holding that the code is unconstitutional as applied to written solicitations, in-person and telephone communications as it violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment guarantee of free speech
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott appealed the district court’s judgment, and the Fifth Circuit justices have now reversed the lower court.
According to court documents, the Texas Barratry Statute regulates solicitation of professional employment by an attorney, chiropractor, physician, surgeon, private investigator or any person certified by a state regulatory agency.
Violations of the act could result in a fine up to $4,000, up to one year in jail, or both.
The statute originally only dealt with written communications, but was amended in 2009 to include solicitations by telephone or in person.
Villasana and McKinley filed their legal challenge Aug. 27, 2009, days before the amendment (House Bill 148) went into effect on Sept. 1, 2009.
Villasana, an attorney, challenged the portion that prohibits written solicitation of persons who had been arrested or received a summons within 30 days of the arrest or receipt of the summons.
McKinley challenged all forms of solicitation by chiropractors of accident victims within the first 30 days. He claimed free speech and equal protection were secured by both the U.S. and Texas constitutions.
The problem with the statute, they argued, is that it is too broad and should be limited to misleading or deceptive communications.
“Instead, it operates as a complete and total ban against the proscribed communication, and no warnings or disclosures made with the communication, regardless of how truthful or informative the communication may be, can rescue the communicator from committing an offense under the broad sweep of the prohibitions,” they wrote.
Villasana, licensed to practice law since 1995, focuses his practice on traffic tickets and representing people who warrants issued for failing to appear.
He has been mailing “truthful, non-deceptive” advertisements to people who are cited for traffic tickets and people who have arrest warrants.
“My advertisements are truthful and helpful, and they are mailed as soon as possible after the ticket or warrant list is developed,” Villasana wrote. “Waiting 31 days to mail out such an advertisement would render the advertisement moot and, effectively, prevent my sharing of truthful information with potential clients.”
He claimed his mailings were helpful to people who may have forgotten about due dates on their tickets or may have missed court.
“Thus the vast majority of my clients are very glad to receive notices from me and both the ticket issuance and of the Missed Court advertisements.”
Villasana said the prohibitions force him to spend more money on mass advertising like billboards, television and yellow pages ads, but prevent his “inexpensive, unobtrusive and truthful ads.”
“I do not want to waste a lot of resources advertising to people who did not receive tickets and are not on the arrest warrant list,” Villasana wrote.
However, the Fifth Circuit justices were not sympathetic. They applied a previous U.S. Supreme Court decision, Central Hudson.
Under Central Hudson and “a long line of Supreme Court precedent,” a state has a compelling interest in the licensing and regulation of professions within its boundaries.
In addition, they wrote that the McKinley case provided ample evidence that the harm caused by solicitation of accident victims within the first 30 days after an accident is real.
“And we conclude that a rule prohibiting solicitation for a 30 day period materially alleviates that harm by preventing the harm identified by the state for the amount of time needed,” wrote Justice Thomas Reavely.
The statute, justices concluded, is not more extensive than necessary and is reasonable and appropriate.
“Accordingly, we dismiss the state law claims of both Appellees and the federal claims of attorney Villasana, and we reverse and remand McKinley’s federal claims for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion,” Reavely wrote.
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s Cyber Crimes Unit arrested Austin resident and lawyer John Ribble Moore, 52, Friday for possession of child pornography.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children referred the case to the Cyber Crimes Unit after receiving a CyberTip, which indicated that images of child pornography were illegally uploaded to the Internet.
After investigating the illegal images, the Cyber Crimes Unit executed a search warrant at Moore’s residence, where they discovered child pornography on a desktop computer.
Under Texas law, child pornography possession is a third-degree felony. If convicted, Moore faces two to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. After Moore’s arrest, a magistrate set his bond at $15,000. Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg’s office will handle the prosecution of Moore’s case.
Attorney General Abbott has earned a national reputation for aggressively arresting and prosecuting online child predators. In 2003, he created the Cyber Crimes Unit, which protects children from online sexual exploitation. The Cyber Crimes Unit and the Fugitive Unit, which locates sex offenders who have violated the terms of their parole, have combined to arrest more than 2,800 sex offenders.
For more information on Attorney General Abbott’s efforts to crack down on sex predators, visit www.texasattorneygeneral.gov or call (800) 252-8011.
A Beaumont trial attorney has filed a claim against the county where he files most of his lawsuits, alleging the Jefferson County Appraisal District overvalued his home.
Mitchell A. Toups of Weller, Green, Toups & Terrell in Beaumont filed the suit July 20 in Jefferson County District Court.
In his suit, Toups claims the appraised value of his Beaumont property “exceeds its market value and is, therefore, excessive and unlawful.”
The property in question is a Beaumont home built in 1929 and located in the city’s West End, the suit states.
Toups argues the house should be listed at more than 50 years old and appraised according to the law for homes older than 50 years.
He is protesting the appraisal of his home under the Texas Constitution, arguing that the appraised value exceeds 10 percent of its value, according to the suit.
Toups is asking the court to enter judgment against the county and fix the appraised value of his home.
Steven Toups, also an attorney for Weller, Green, Toups & Terrell, represents him.
Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, has been assigned to the case.
A local judge has reinstated local attorney Alan McLemore, who was arrested in Kountze on Feb. 8, 1995, for cultivating marijuana.
McLemore filed his petition for reinstatement Jan. 4 in Jefferson County District Court, arguing that he has “lived a life of exemplary conduct since his arrest.”
Following a brief hearing, Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, reinstated McLemore on Aug. 22.
Court records show that McLemore pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and served five years of a 78-month sentence.
The Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas disbarred him on May 22, 1997.
Since his release, McLemore has been working various jobs, including working as an independent legal assistant, the petition states.
McLemore, 59, is currently living with his wife, Marianne, in Beaumont, the petition states.
According to a 1998 letter appearing in marijuanamagazine.com, McLemore suffers from depression and was growing the marijuana for his personal medicinal use.
Beaumont attorney Michael Jamail represents him.
The CDC is represented by its regional Houston counsel, J.G. Molleston.
A Provost Umphrey lawsuit filed over claims seeking tens of thousands of dollars from a Beaumont law firm has been dismissed.
As previously reported, PU filed suit against the Law Offices of Newton B. Schwartz Sr. on Jan. 27 in Jefferson County District Court.
Schwartz and his firm had sued PU for various amounts they say the law firm owes them.
At PU’s request, Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, dismissed the case, according to the judge’s order.
Court records show that the parties reached a settlement.
Among the amounts owed, according to the defendants, were a guaranty on a $40,000 loan to Benton Musselwhite, a guaranty on a $100,000 loan to Benton Musselwhite and monthly advances from PU to Benton Musselwhite, the suit states.
“Plaintiff intends to fully honor, pay and perform all valid and still enforceable debts, obligations, interests and duties owed to Defendants and does not repudiate any valid and still enforceable debts, obligations, interests and duties to Defendants,” the suit states.
“However, a genuine controversy exists between Plaintiff and Defendants regarding the existence and enforceability of this claimed debts, obligations, interests and duties and the terms and conditions thereof.”
Gary Neale Reger of Orgain, Bell and Tucker in Beaumont represented PU.
WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) – The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief Monday with the U.S. Supreme Court, urging it to find that private lawyers representing public agencies are entitled to increased immunity from lawsuits.
The ABA submitted the brief in the case of Filarsky v. Delia, stating that private sector lawyers retained by public entities to do government legal work are entitled to the same immunity from related lawsuits that government employees have. The ABA maintains this is essential to protect the public interest.
GALVESTON – Frederick W. Fournier seeks to have a local state district judge compel a Friendswood attorney to release funds he accumulated during previous divorce proceedings, recent court documents say.
Fournier’s lawsuit requests Galveston County 10th District Court Judge David Garner grant a temporary restraining order barring defendant Kevin M. Prendergast from withholding $70,250.
Court papers, which were filed Nov. 16, state the plaintiff hired Prendergast to represent him in his divorce from his wife, Michele, in the Harris County 309th District Court.
It was during the pendency of the divorce when Fournier sold and closed on a home he owned in the same county.
The proceeds from the transaction were sent to his spouse, who then delivered the entire amount to her attorney for safekeeping awaiting the disposition of the case.
The original petition shows the litigants obtained a court order calling for one-half of the funds that lawyer Anson Phipps was holding to be allocated to Prendergast.
The divorce suit was dismissed for want of prosecution and has been reinstated though the complainant and his wife are trying to reconcile, however, the defendant failed and refused to pay Fournier the money in dispute, the suit says.
Fournier adds “the respondent has now blocked the plaintiff’s calls and has refused to talk with the plaintiff, and has been and continues to be evasive.”
In addition to the amount in question, he seeks the defendant’s disbarment.
Attorney C. Michael Matkin of Spring is representing the plaintiff.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include a response from Juhan.
Like he says in commercials, Beaumont trial lawyer Jonathan Juhan may not be known as “The Strong Arm” like Brian Loncar or “The Texas Hammer” like Jim Adler, but his name can be found in a recent suit filed by the State Office of Risk Management.
SORM filed suit against Juhan on Dec. 1 in Jefferson County District Court, seeking to collect worker’s compensation benefits paid to one of the local attorney’s clients.
Court records show that Juhan represented Sjolanda Brown in litigation filed in February 2008. Brown had been in an automobile collision two years earlier. She received worker’s compensation benefits from SORM in the amount of $17,510.
On Aug. 19, 2010, Juhan entered into an agreement with SORM, agreeing that the entity would be reimbursed for the benefits paid to Brown, as required by the Texas Labor Code, after he settled the case.
A month later, SORM learned the case had been disposed by means of non-suit.
“SORM never received any money,” the suit states.
“Defendant Juhan had actual knowledge or SORM’s right to the settlement proceeds. Despite this knowledge, defendant Juhan wrongfully exercised control over the settlement proceeds by accepting the money, thereby causing harm to SORM by depriving it of settlement proceeds to which it had a right to immediate possession.”
However, Juhan told the Record that a check for the settlement proceeds was sent to SORM in August 2010, and that he has received no correspondence on the case since.
After learning about the lawsuit, Juhan contacted the insurer, who verified that the check was issued to SORM, but never cashed, likely due to a clerical error. He said the insurer told him a new check is being sent to the state, which will resolve the matter.
SORM has also filed a separate suit against Singhasuk Pattaraporn and Tula Pongprueksa – the parties that caused the automobile collision with Brown.
SORM is seeking actual damages and attorney’s fees.
Assistant Attorney General Kevin Molina represents SORM.
Judge Gary Sanderson, 6oth District Court, is assigned to the case.
Area criminal defense attorney Rife Kimler, 48, was arrested Friday for hindering the apprehension of a young woman at his Nederland residence.
According to a probable cause affidavit, authored by Deputy Sheriff Jonta Miller on Dec. 7, Kimler “did intentionally and knowingly commit the offense of hindering apprehension at 1023 Chicago, Nederland, Jefferson County, Texas 77627.”
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Kimler turned himself in on Friday, following the issuance of a warrant for his arrest.
The affidavit says that on Nov. 22, Miller and another deputy confronted Kimler outside his residence, advising him that they were attempting to apprehend Danielle Slaughter, 27, who was charged with three counts of theft.
According to the affidavit, Kimler displayed nervous behavior and told the peace officers Slaughter was in Louisiana.
Suspicious that he was lying, the deputy’s parked nearby and kept surveillance on Kimler’s residence. The affidavit states that 45 minutes later, Slaughter walked out of the attorney’s home and was placed under arrest.
“Slaughter informed me (Miller) Kimler intentionally hid her away from police,” the affidavit states. “Slaughter also informed me Kimler said he would … do (whatever it takes) for her not to go back to jail. Slaughter went on to say Kimler dropped her bonds because she would not have sex with him.”
The affidavit was obtained from the office of Justice of the Peace Nancy Beaulieu.
Kimler’s Facebook page states he received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1990.
Beaumont attorney Jonathan Juhan says a suit against him by the State Office of Risk Management was filed in error.
As the Southeast Texas Record reported last week, SORM filed suit against Juhan on Dec. 1 in Jefferson County District Court, seeking to collect worker’s compensation benefits paid to one of Juhan’s clients.
Juhan represented Sjolanda Brown in litigation filed in February 2008. Brown had been in an automobile collision two years earlier. She received worker’s compensation benefits from SORM in the amount of $17,510.
On Aug. 19, 2010, Juhan entered into an agreement with SORM, agreeing that the entity would be reimbursed for the benefits paid to Brown, as required by the Texas Labor Code, after he settled the case.
A month later, SORM learned the case had been disposed by means of non-suit. SORM claimed it never received the reimbursement from Juhan.
In correspondence with the Record, Juhan said he settled Brown’s case and that the state agreed to a reduction, which was sent to the insurance company.
“The liability insurance company issued a check directly to the State. I never heard a single word about it,” he wrote in an email. “I, of course, assumed everything was taken care of.”
After learning about the suit only after reading it in the Southeast Texas Record, Juhan contacted the insurer, who verified that the check was issued to SORM, but never cashed, likely due to a clerical error. He said the insurer told him a new check is being sent to the state, which will resolve the matter.
Juhan also contact Assistant Attorney General Kevin Molina, who filed the suit on behalf of SORM.
Juhan wrote that Molina is “going to nonsuit this frivolous case.”
“He (Molina) personally apologized to me for filing this case,” Juhan wrote.
“I am very ethical,” he wrote. “I put all my clients first. As a matter of fact, I have never taken a full fee in any case I have ever handled.”
The Commission for Lawyer Discipline, a committee of the State Bar of Texas, has filed a disciplinary petition against Beaumont attorney Glen Engle, who was indicted by a grand jury last April for impersonating a public official.
As previously reported, Engle was brought up on three charges, one of which is a third degree felony for using the name of his brother’s ex-girlfriend to get a notary public certificate.
The CFLD filed its petition on Jan. 20 in Jefferson County District Court, asserting that on Feb. 11, 2009, Engle applied for and obtained a notary stamp under the name Katy Dawson.
“The real … Dawson is not and never has been a notary public for the State of Texas,” the petition states. “Thereafter, Respondent notarized numerous documents alleging to be Dawson and then filed same with the Courts.”
The CFLD is asking the court to discipline Engle by reprimand, suspension or disbarment.
On a side note, the Southeast Texas Record reported on a suit filed by Engle in August 2010 against his ex-wife.
In that Orange County District Court case, Engle sought $1 million in emotional damages from his ex-wife after she rescued their son from his chores.
Engle had his 11-year-old son down on his hands and knees cutting grass with a pair of scissors. When his back was turned, the boy ran away from his father’s home and called his mother.
The professional rating site AVVO indicates Engle has previously been cited for professional misconduct by a state disciplinary authority, including a partially probated suspension in 2010 and a public reprimand in 2005.
The CFLD is represented by Houston attorney Shannon Sauceda, assistant disciplinary counsel.
Judge Donald Floyd, 172nd District Court, is assigned to the case.
When the Commission for Lawyer Discipline and Beaumont attorney Rhett Phares, who allegedly demanded $100,000 from his former client and threatened him by lauding his influence over local judges, square off in court later this month, an out-of-town judge will preside over the trial.
The trial to discipline Phares, which could include possible disbarment, is slated to be held Feb. 21 in Judge Gary Sanderson’s 6oth District Court. However, Tarrant County Judge Judith Wells, 325th District Court, will be behind the gavel when the trial starts, according to a courthouse official.
The lawsuit, filed April 18, 2011, in Jefferson County District Court, stems from a case filed by Phares’ former client, Dr. Saeed Ally, who sued the attorney last July.
Dr. Ally, a Beaumont cardiovascular surgeon, filed a lawsuit against Phares on July 19 in Jefferson County District Court, after receiving emails from Phares allegedly demanding a $100,000 cash payment in exchange for keeping private information confidential.
The Commission for Lawyer Discipline alleges in its suit that Phares’ emails contained multiple threats, “including claims that he was able to improperly influence government agencies and officials (such as) various judges.”
The commission’s lawsuit faults Phares with numerous rule violations, including representing opposing parties in the same litigation, improper communications, threatening persons with criminal charges to gain an advantage in a civil matter and implying an ability to improperly influence a government agency or official.
The suit does not name the government officials and judges Phares supposedly holds sway with.
Chief Disciplinary Counsel Linda Acevedo represents the commission.
A state representative who was named the Democrats’ “Freshman of the Year” spent some time in jail Tuesday night.
State Rep. Ron Reynolds (District 27), a managing partner at Brown, Brown and Reynolds Law Firm, is accused of illegally soliciting legal cases.
Reynolds, 38, whose district includes Fort Bend County, was arrested Tuesday. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released after midnight Wednesday. He will make his first court appearance Thursday.
According to Fox 26 in Houston, another Houston attorney, Marcela Halmagean, filed a complaint against Reynolds that led to his arrest.
The complaint alleges Reynolds used an individual to solicit Halmagean as a client when she was involved in an auto crash.
Texas law prohibits soliciting a client for legal services, and just last year, the Texas Legislature passed a statute that makes barratry a civil as well as criminal infraction, allowing civil suits to be filed.
Reynolds, a former municipal court judge, past president of the Houston Lawyers Association and an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University was named “Freshman of the Year” in 2011 by the House Democratic Caucus.
But the barratry charge is not the first time Reynolds has been in trouble. He was previously fined $10,000.00 by the Texas Ethics Commission for refusing to file legally-required disclosure statements.
A KXAN News investigation shows that as of June 1, 2011, Reynolds owed the Texas Ethics Commission nearly $10,260 in fines relating to failure to file the required financial disclosure reports required of candidates for public office and officeholders.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office took Reynolds to court to collect the fines, and the lawmakers now owes the AG $2,500, plus interest, in court costs, the investigations shows. The Texas Comptroller’s Office is now garnishing his legislative salary to collect the debt.
He also failed to submit his Personal Financial Statement for 2008, 2010 and 2011. Failure to file a Personal Financial Statement is a Class B Misdemeanor. If convicted, the penalty is up to 180 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
During his 2008 campaign, the Texas Ethics Commission terminated Reynolds’ campaign treasurer. Reynolds didn’t get a new treasurer for almost six months, during which time he continued to raise and spend campaign funds. The Texas Election Code prohibits any state candidate for state office from accepting contributions or making expenditures until a campaign treasurer report is filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Court filings also show that Reynolds and his law firm owe more than $10,000 to Martindale-Hubble, an information services company to the legal profession.
If he is found guilty of barratry, the representative could be forced to pay up to $10,000 in fines. He could also lose his license to practice law.
GALVESTON – A lawsuit filed April 20 in Galveston County District Court seeks disciplinary action against Texas City attorney Mark Aronowitz.
The Commission for Lawyer Discipline alleges Aronowitz improperly handled Donald and Doris Young’s bankruptcy case.
The Youngs hired Aronowitz to serve as their counsel in federal bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas and two appellate matters.
According to the original petition, Aronowitz withdrew himself as Doris Young’s attorney because he lost standing to practice before the bankruptcy court.
Doris Young claims Aronowitz filed a motion to withdraw as counsel and permit his client to proceed pro se without her knowledge, the suit states.
The commission further claims Aronowitz “filed the motion under Ms. Young’s signature, which was not her signature, nor did the respondent have Ms. Young’s permission to sign for her.”
Aronowitz is also accused of neglecting a bankruptcy matter on behalf of Donald Young by failing to file a cross motion for summary judgment as ordered by Houston Bankruptcy Judge Marvin Isgur on May 31, 2007.
The complaint adds the defendant failed to file any briefs in connection to the couple’s appeals in Galveston County Court at Law No. 1 and the Fifth Circuit Court.
Aronowitz’s alleged negligence prompted the Youngs to seek assistance from the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas on July 19, 2011.
Aside from the defendant’s suspension or disbarment, the petitioner seeks unspecified monetary damages.
One local attorney appears to be on the lam after being indicted last week for allegedly taking a client’s money, while another lawyer already in jail faces more charges of illegal conduct.
Kevin “Kip” Lamb, 56, was indicted May 3 on misapplication of fiduciary funds, a first-degree felony.
Criminal District Court Judge John Stevens issued a warrant for Lamb’s arrest on Thursday after he was indicted. Law enforcement officers have been unable to locate the attorney and Lamb is still at large.
He is accused of taking more than $200,000 that was held in trust for a client.
In February, the Southeast Texas Record reported that a local church filed a suit against Lamb, alleging he took Hurricane Ike insurance settlement funds that were supposed to be held in a trust for the church.
Record staff was told by the district attorney’s office that the indictment is under seal, so it cannot verify if the indictment stems from the same charges named in the lawsuit.
In other news relating to attorney activity in Jefferson County, Glen Engle has been indicted again.
Already facing charges of impersonating a pubic official, forgery and tampering with a government document and currently serving time in jail for contempt of court, Engle was indicted April 26 on another charge of tampering with a government document.
Engle allegedly asked a prosecutor to change the offer in one of his cases. When that prosecutor refused, he went to another prosecutor and said the other had agreed to the change.
Engle’s client then entered a plea based on the allegedly fraudulent agreement.
He has a May 21 trial date for earlier charges. Engle, 56, is currently serving a 180-day sentence on a contempt of court charge for lying to a judge about his legal representation.
In April 2011, a Jefferson County grand jury indicted Engle for impersonating a public official by using the name of his brother’s ex-girlfriend to get a notary public certificate. Charges state he then used that certificate to notarize documents that he presented in court.
He was also indicted for forgery and tampering with a government document. Engle allegedly presented a forged affidavit to the court during a hearing concerning a child custody case.
The professional rating site AVVO indicates Engle has previously been cited for professional misconduct by a state disciplinary authority, including a partially probated suspension in 2010 and a public reprimand in 2005.
A Beaumont attorney who fled after being indicted has been arrested and is now in custody.
Kip Kevin Lamb, 56, was charged with misapplication of fiduciary funds, a first degree felony. He was indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury on May 3, but when police followed up with an arrest warrant the attorney could not be located.
Authorities found Lamb in Arkansas on May 8, and he is now in the Jefferson County Jail on a $1 million bond.
Lamb, 56, is accused of syphoning funds from a $1 million church hurricane insurance settlement. The charges are the same as those outlined in a civil suit previously reported on by the Southeast Texas Record.
In its complaint, the church alleges it won $1.094 million from a settlement with Lloyds Insurance Co. in 2006 for damages caused to its property by Hurricane Rita.
Following the settlement, the church’s pastor, Lonnie Treadway, ordered that the money be deposited into a trust account held by the Lamb Law Firm, the suit states.
“The ostensible reason for this action was to protect these funds from potential judgment creditors in a lawsuit then pending against the Church and some of its staff,” the complaint says.
However, the church alleges the law firm did not hold the money in a trust fund, but instead stole the money from the church.
“Treadway knew and had reason to know that the lawyer defendants were not holding the church’s money in trust and may have authorized or encouraged the lawyer defendants’ misappropriation of those funds,” the suit states.
Investigators say the money was transferred from the trust account to a different account, according to court papers. From there, money in the other account went into the firm’s general operations account.
Beaumont attorney Glen Engle pleaded not guilty to charges of tampering with court records on Tuesday.
Last February, Engle allegedly presented a forged affidavit to 58th District Court Judge Bob Wortham during a hearing concerning a child custody case.
On May 22, Judge Wortham testified that he believed the affidavit to be a forgery, prompting him to take investigative action and ultimately notify the authorities.
“I felt obligated by the mechanics of ethics to report (the affidavit) to the (Jefferson County) District Attorney’s Office,” Wortham testified.
If convicted, Engle could face up to two years in prison.
Engle is also facing separate charges of impersonating a pubic official.
In April 2011, a Jefferson County grand jury indicted Engle for impersonating a public official by using the name of his brother’s ex-girlfriend to get a notary public certificate.
A year later, on April 26 Engle was indicted on another charge of tampering with a government document.
Missouri City attorney Jimmie Brown represents Engle.
Attorney Ed Shettle, first assistant of criminal division, represents the state.
Judge John Stevens of the Criminal District Court is presiding over the trial.
Beaumont attorney Glen Engle made a last minute guilty plea for tampering with court records and was sentenced to six months in the Jefferson County Jail. Engle also pleaded guilty to impersonating a public servant and was sentenced to two years in prison.
The plea came only one day after Engle pleaded not guilty and a trial began.
In February 2011, Engle allegedly presented a forged affidavit to 58th District Court Judge Bob Wortham during a hearing concerning a child custody case.
On May 22, Judge Wortham testified that he believed the affidavit to be a forgery, prompting him to take investigative action and ultimately notify the authorities.
“I felt obligated by the mechanics of ethics to report (the affidavit) to the (Jefferson County) District Attorney’s Office,” Wortham testified.
A Jefferson County grand jury indicted Engle in April 2011 for impersonating a public official by using the name of his brother’s ex-girlfriend to get a notary public certificate.
Missouri City attorney Jimmie Brown represents Engle.
Attorney Ed Shettle, first assistant of criminal division, represents the state.
Judge John Stevens of the Criminal District Court presided over the trial.
Corpus Christi attorney Benito Garza must surrender his law license after being charged with barratry for trying to make a sales call at a grieving woman’s home in the middle of the night.
Garza appeared in Jim Wells County district court on May 17 and pleaded no contest to one count of barratry, a third-degree felony offense. He was sentenced to 10 years probation, a $6,000 fine and immediate surrender of his license to practice law.
The Texas Penal Code stipulates that an individual commits barratry if, with intent to obtain an economic benefit, the person solicits employment, either in person or by telephone, for himself or for another. It can refer to a lawyer seeking clients at a disaster site, which is also known as ambulance chasing.
In 2009, the Texas legislature revised and expanded the scope of the barratry cade by including any form of communications with a potential client, including written solicitations and solicitation in person and telephone are also prohibited.
The Office of the Attorney General executed a search warrant for the Garza Law Firm in Corpus Christi in 2010. According to the search warrant affidavit, Garza and his case runner Timothy “Sugar Bear” Trevino unlawfully solicited legal employment from the family members a man who was killed in an auto accident.
The deceased man’s mother told OAG investigators that Garza and Trevino arrived at her home uninvited at 1 a.m. to make an unsolicited sales call and offer legal services to the victim’s family, according to a press release.
Trevino was found guilty of one felony battery charge on May 22. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Part of Garza’s sentence required him to testify against Trevino.
“Soliciting a legal client in a personal injury case immediately after a devastating accident is a crime in the State of Texas,” said Attorney General Greg Abbott in a statement. “It is also against the law for lawyers to secure a client’s case by paying off their relatives. But that didn’t stop the defendants in this case from making an uninvited 1:00 a.m. appearance at the home of a devastated mother – just hours after her son was killed in a tragic accident – so that they could illegally pitch their personal injury practice to the mourning family.”
