Lawyer agrees to disbarment, kept client in the dark

A Northern Virginia consumer lawyer has consented to license revocation more than four years after he was sanctioned by a federal judge for keeping a client in the dark and prolonging litigation.

Ernest P. Francis rejected two settlement offers without consulting his client in a consumer debt case marked by “pervasive incivility,” the Virginia State Bar charged. The client later fired Francis and accepted a settlement offer during a 2016 deposition. U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee imposed a sanctions award of nearly $80,000 as fees and costs for Francis’ vexatiously prolonging the litigation, according to VSB documents.

Francis showed similar behavior in a stormy VSB district committee hearing in 2019, the bar said. Representing himself, Francis allegedly “exhibited disrespectful conduct towards the tribunal and opposing counsel and threatening outbursts both inside and outside the courtroom,” the bar charged.

Later represented by Mary T. Morgan of Virginia Beach, Francis agreed to revocation, but asked the VSB Disciplinary Board to allow him 90 days to wrap up his practice. The board allowed 60 days from Jan. 22, the date of a scheduled hearing.

“Mr. Francis made some very poor decisions. He exhibited behavior that was unbecoming for an attorney, especially one that’s been practicing for over 30 years, is licensed in multiple jurisdictions and has a wealth of experience under his belt,” Morgan told the board in a Jan. 12 hearing. “But at the end of the day, Mr. Francis has admitted that his actions were unwarranted, he has apologized for his behavior and he’s accepted responsibility by voluntarily surrendering his license to practice law,” Morgan said.

Morgan said Francis had been practicing for 34 years and, at 61, was old enough to retire. But she said he will need to find another occupation to make ends meet.