Law Firm Sues D.C. Area Court Clerk, Claims $73K in Unpaid Fees
A Virginia law firm has sued the court clerk in Fairfax, claiming it is owed $73,000 for work in dozens of juvenile cases.
Lawyers Michael Arif and Matthew Greene said they sued after the court clerk failed to respond to repeated requests for information about the unpaid vouchers, some that had been submitted more than two years ago, the Washington Post reports. The lawyers are respected for their juvenile work; Arif was appointed to represented sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo in 2002.
The article does not identify Arif and Greene’s law firm, but a Google search suggests it is Martin Arif & Greene in Springfield, Va.
Greene told the Post that “virtually every attorney who’s on the list [for court appointment] in Fairfax juvenile court has not been paid in months and months.” Another lawyer interviewed, Anne Norloff, said she accepts court appointments in five courts in Northern Virginia, but not in Fairfax. Norloff said the county owes her $10,000.
“I’ve done juvenile law for 20 years and Fairfax is the only court that acts like this,” she said. “Fairfax juvenile court has driven away all its good attorneys.”
Fairfax Juvenile Court clerk Jennifer Flanagan told the Post that Arif and Greene had never contacted her about their complaints, and she is now investigating their claims. “I can assure you that we’re submitting the vouchers as we’re receiving them and following the process,” she said.
