Attorney Grievance Comm’n v. Andrew Ndubisi Ucheomumu, Misc. Docket AG No. 58, September Term, 2016 ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE – SANCTIONS – DISBARMENT – Court of Appeals disbarred lawyer who failed to order transcripts that were necessary for appeal to proceed, failed to advise client to do so, and failed to file timely motion for extension of time to file transcripts, resulting in appeal’s dismissal; completely failed to accomplish objectives of his representation of client in appeal; did not advise client of deadline for ordering transcripts, his failure to meet it, his failure’s possible consequences, and show cause order that Court of Special Appeals issued; failed to comply with client’s requests for copies of certain documents; failed to communicate, before or during his representation, that he would charge hourly rate; collected, and failed to earn or refund, $6,200 that client paid him; withdrew unearned funds from, and failed to deposit unearned funds into, his attorney trust account; falsely represented to Court of Special Appeals that there had been delay in ordering transcripts because he had not received client’s case file from her previous counsel; falsely represented to Bar Counsel that he had advised client to order transcripts, that she had never paid him so that he could order transcripts, and that Court of Special Appeals had dismissed appeal because client had failed to order transcripts; and falsely represented to client that she was responsible for appeal’s dismissal. Such conduct violated Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct (“MLRPC”) 1.1 (Competence), 1.2(a) (Allocation of Authority Between Client and Lawyer), 1.3 (Diligence), 1.4(a)(2), 1.4(a)(3), 1.4(b) (Communication), 1.5(a) (Unreasonable Fees), 1.5(b) (Communication of Fees), 1.15(a), 1.15(c) (Safekeeping Property), 1.16(d) (Terminating Representation), 3.3(a)(1) (Candor Toward Tribunal), 8.1(a) (Disciplinary Matters), 8.4(c) (Dishonesty, Fraud, Deceit, or Misrepresentation), 8.4(d) (Conduct That Is Prejudicial to Administration of Justice), and 8.4(a) (Violating MLRPC). Circuit Court for Prince George’s County Case No. CAE17-07944 Argued: October 4, 2018 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND Misc. Docket AG No. 58 September Term, 2016 ______________________________________ ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. ANDREW NDUBISI UCHEOMUMU ______________________________________ Barbera, C.J. Greene *Adkins McDonald Watts Hotten Getty, JJ. ______________________________________ Opinion by Watts, J. ______________________________________ Filed: November 16, 2018 *Adkins, J., now retired, participated in the hearing and conference of this case while an active member of this Court; after being recalled Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act pursuant to the Md. Constitution, Article IV, (§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document " authentic. Section 3A, she also participated in the decision 2018-11-16 and adoption of this opinion. 08:19-05:00 Suzanne C. Johnson, Acting Clerk This attorney discipline proceeding involves a lawyer who, among other misconduct, caused an appeal in his client’s case to be dismissed and lied to his client, Bar Counsel, and the Court of Special Appeals in an attempt to deflect the blame for the appeal’s dismissal. Shannan Martin retained Andrew Ndubisi Ucheomumu, Respondent, a member of the Bar of Maryland, to represent her in an appeal. For an appeal to proceed, ...
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