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Ellsworth Attorney’s Fate Up to Supreme Court Judge

Written by  Mark Good Friday, May 11, 2012 at 8:35 am

BANGOR — The fate of an Ellsworth attorney accused of violating rules of professional conduct is now in the hands of a Maine Supreme Court justice.

Christopher Whalley is facing disciplinary action in a case brought by the Maine Board of Overseers that stems from complaints filed with the board. On Monday, following the second and final day of the disciplinary hearing in the Penobscot County Judicial Center, Justice Warren Silver said he would render a decision on the five-count complaint within 10 days.

Whalley, who was admitted to the Maine Bar in 1991, is accused of engaging in conduct unworthy of an attorney and violating rules of professional conduct in three separate legal matters.

A mother and her two daughters, whom the court referred to as the Clossons, separately filed complaints to the board regarding Whalley’s handling of a domestic partnership civil suit in which they were his clients. The women claim Whalley failed to follow through on collecting judgments awarded to them by the court.

The adverse parties in cases involving Whalley’s clients filed the other two complaints with the board.

On Monday, Sharon Closson and her daughters, Laurie Ward and Jessica Meyer, were called to the witness stand.

Under questioning by Assistant Bar Counsel Aria Eee, Ward recounted her family’s attempt to obtain a civil judgment against her mother’s former boyfriend, who had been found guilty in a criminal trial of abusing family members.

In the beginning, the Clossons’ relationship with Whalley was congenial, she said.

“It seemed like he was trying to help us,” Ward said.

For more police & court news, pick up a copy of The Ellsworth American.

Mark Good

Mark Good

Mark Good covers the towns of Southwest Harbor and Tremont, cops and courts and writes arts and feature stories. When not on the job he can be found making music or flyfishing. He and his wife live in Tremont with a dog and two cats.

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