This isn’t the type of publicity that any law firm wants.
The Portland Press Herald reports today that Verrill Dana LLP, a law firm that has over 100 attorneys and has been in existence for 145 years, “has fired a longtime partner for allegedly stealing money from his clients and the firm.”
The allegation is that attorney John D. Duncan is the one responsible for these thefts. Verrill Dana has sent “an unusually candid apology” to the approximately 1,000 clients Duncan served over the years. (The letter can be read from the link above.)
The Press Herald reports that Duncan’s secretary allerted the firm to the “alleged misconduct in early June, but Duncan stayed on the job until Oct. 28.”
Daniel Lilly, the secretary’s lawyer, alleges that the law firm’s reaction to the misconduct by Duncan was “totally inadequate,” and he has criticized the firm for not acting quickly enough.
For its part, reports the newspaper, Verrill Dana hired “three outside firms to review Duncan’s work. LeBlanc & Young has investigated overbilling; Dawson, Smith, Purvis & Bassett has looked into accounts for which Duncan had access to funds; and Norman Hanson & DeTroy is representing the firm in any litigation that might stem from the situation.”
The Board of Bar Overseers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the District Attorney’s office have all been notified.
