Attorney News

Survey of EL Attorneys' Use of E-mail Reveals Love-Hate Relationship
What is e-mail's place in the elder law office, and specifically in correspondence with clients? While our recent survey revealed that the use of e-mail in practices is widespread, we also found pockets of considerable unease about using the technology to communicate with clients.

Attorney Suspended for Mishandling Estate Matter and Writing Himself Checks
West Virginia's high court suspends an attorney for mishandling an estate matter and writing checks to himself for his fees from the estate, finding his lack of experience with estate work to be an insufficient mitigating factor. Lawyer Disciplinary Bd. v. Martin (W. Va., No. 34734, March 4, 2010).

Maryland Court Approves Settlement in Class Action Over Treatment of Pre-Eligibility Medical Expenses
In what is believed to be the largest settlement or judgment ever paid by Maryland's Medicaid agency, a Maryland court has given its preliminary approved to the settlement of a class action lawsuit alleging defects in the state's calculation of medical expenses incurred by Medicaid recipients before they became eligible for benefits and in the recipients' contributions towards their cost of care. Smith v. Colmers (Cir. Ct. Balt. City, No. 24-C-05-007421, March 12, 2010).