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VSB pays $38K from client protection program
Peter Vieth//November 6, 2017//
The Virginia State Bar’s Clients’ Protection Fund awarded $38,168.33 in reimbursements to former clients of 11 Virginia lawyers at a meeting Sept. 15.
The CPF board approves awards to persons who suffer financial loss because of dishonest conduct by Virginia lawyers.
The largest of the awards was $7,333.33 paid to a client of former Fairfax County lawyer John A. Sutherland, who was disbarred in 2011 after allegedly dropping the ball on a personal injury claim and then failing to respond to inquiries from the client and from the bar.
The CPF payment was reimbursement for proceeds of a personal injury judgment that was paid in 2009 and apparently pocketed by Sutherland.
The fund is not taxpayer funded, but is supported by Virginia lawyers who have been assessed an annual fee of up to $25. The fee drops to $10 next year. The VSB plans to seek an extension of a sunset provision to allow assessments to continue for another five years. The fund held $9.7 million as of Sept. 30.
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