The Clients’ Protection Fund Issue by Susan Tarley, Chair THE CLIENTS’ PROTECTION FUND was established in 1976 to make monetary awards to people who have suffered financial losses because of the dishonest conduct of Virginia lawyers. The fund is managed by a fourteen-member board appointed by the Virginia State Bar Council. Board members investigate all petitions from clients for pay-ments from the fund. The Board hears each petition and determines the amount of loss. The total amount paid during FY 2019– 2020 was $30,659 for ten claims. The Board denied seventeen (17) petitions, and fourteen (14) petitions were rejected for not meeting the CPF rule requirements. Three (3) claims were withdrawn by the peti-tioners. As of June 30, 2020, there were thirty-six (36) pending claims. The total amount paid for the operating expenses of the CPF for the fiscal year was $4,221.00. In addition, the fund paid $15,357.00 for receivership cases initiated by the Virginia State Bar. The fund began the fiscal year on July 1, 2019, with a cash balance of $10,157,966. The Clients’ Protection Fund $10 assessment from all active attorneys totaled $326,355. Interest income for the fiscal year, totaled $207,574. The fund received restitution from the attorney gen-eral’s collections, debt set-off, and individual restitutions in the amount of $12,132 net of attorney’s fees for collection services. As of June 30, 2020, the cash balance in the fund was $10,650,622. Previously, in 2018–2019 forty-four (44) new petitions were received. The total amount paid during 2018–2019 was $132,303.48 representing twenty-five (25) claims. The Board denied seventeen (17) petitions, and twelve (12) petitions were rejected for not meeting the CPF rule requirements. One (1) claim was withdrawn by the petitioner and one (1) conditional approval claim was closed by the Board. As of June 30, 2019, there were eleven (11) pending claims. The Board reviewed and investigated forty-five (45) claims during the year. The Board is to be commended for the many hours spent investi-gating and deliberating claims, and for the work of its various commit-tees including the public awareness and strategic planning committees. Appreciation is extended to board members Donna Sue Baker, Adam D. Elfenbein, Margaret A. Nelson, and Kenneth Murov who retired in 2019 after their years of service on the Board. The Board welcomed Joseph Meek Bowen, Christopher Anthony Corbett, Brian Dean Lytle, and Lisa Ann Wilson as new members for fiscal year 2019–2020. As chair, I am retiring after six years on the CPF Board and express great appreciation to all of the board members and staff that I have met and worked with over the years. Peter M. Mellette, Esquire, will be joining the CPF Board as a new member for the fiscal year 2020–2021, and we extend a warm welcome to Peter. Susan Bradford Tarley is a partner with Tarley Robinson, PLC, in Williamsburg. She maintains a real estate practice that includes community association law, corporate and business matters, real estate development and residential and commercial real estate transactions. Tarley serves as chair for the VSB’s Clients’ Protection Fund Board and is co-chair of the Common Interest Community subcommittee of the VSB Real Property Section. She received her law degree from George Mason University School of Law and her undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University. Tarley also served as a Substitute Judge for the Ninth Judicial Circuit from 1998–2016. www.vsb.org CLIENTS’ PROTECTION FUND | VOL. 69 | AUGUST 2020 | VIRGINIA LAWYER 13
Issue Articles
The Clients’ Protection Fund Issue
Susan Tarley
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