Kansas Estate Planning Lawyer Censured

A Kansas attorney, Mr. Larry L. Myers, admitted that he customarily charged one hour for 45 minutes work by his “rounding up” policy.  The Kansas Supreme Court determined that, “Billing in one-hour increments when one hour is not spent working on a matter is an improper billing practice.” In the Matter of Myers, No. 95,132, Feb. 3, 2006.

Here is an excerpt from the testimony in the case:

‘Q. [By Mr. Sear] In reviewing these bills, all of the time entries are in full one hour increments except for an entry on March 1, 2000, for three and one-half hours. Was it your practice to bill in full one hour increments in this time frame?

‘A. [By the Respondent] Yes.

‘Q. So regardless of the amount of time that you spent on a matter, if you spent less than an hour on it, you still billed for an hour?

‘A. Well, if we spent three-fourths of an hour, I would bill for an hour, yes.

‘Q. What if you spent one-quarter of an hour?

‘A. I would not bill for an hour.

‘Q. What was the smallest time spent in this time frame that you would bill for a full hour?

‘A. I’d say three-fourths of an hour.

‘Q. Is that your current practice?

‘A. Yes.’

The court determined that censure was appropriate.  Myers then “urged that the censure not be published in the Kansas Reports. * * * The Hearing Panel further recommends that because of the persuasive aggravating factors, the censure be published in the Kansas Reports.”

See also Terry Carter, No Time for a Round-up, ABA J. e-Report, March 10, 2006.