Attorney Disciplined Over Real Estate Loan Made to Client, Pending Tort Case Recovery
A longtime Fort Collins practitioner with a hitherto unblemished ethical record has been put on probation by a disciplinary arm of the Colorado Supreme Court after making a loan to a client in a personal injury case at 18 percent interest.
Although Erik Fischer said he felt he was doing the right thing by helping his client to save her home, which was in foreclosure, he didn’t make special disclosures required of attorneys when loaning an additional $13,000-plus to the woman, following an earlier $10,000 loan, reports the Coloradan.
He did make the required special disclosures when he initially loaned the client $10,000, through a company he co-owns, Real Estate Recovery.
Issued in May and published by the state bar association this month in the Colorado Lawyer, the disciplinary ruling suspended Fischer’s law license for 90 days. However, the suspension was stayed, at least in part, according to the opinion, because Fischer made a mistake but had no dishonest motive. If he successfully completes his one-year probation, there will be no action taken against his license.
“Anytime a lawyer is involved in a business transaction with a client, it’s perilous,” says John Gleason of the state Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel. “Clients view their lawyer as a friend and confidante. That creates a dangerous mix of business and personal interests.”
