On Friday, February 20, 2026, the Ad Hoc Hearing Committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility recommended that the D.C. Court of Appeals approve a negotiated settlement imposing a 90-day suspension, with 60 days stayed, and two years of unsupervised probation on attorney William H. Brammer, Jr.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of William H. Brammer, Jr.,” with case number 2002-D024.
The case originated from Mr. Brammer’s representation of Patricia Easley Whearty and her brother, Craig Easley, who hired him on July 1, 2021, to obtain information about expenditures made by the trustee of their mother’s trust. The trustee was their sister, residing in Virginia with their mother. The siblings’ parents had lived in Maryland before their father’s death, and certain assets remained in that state.
According to the Committee’s report, Mr. Brammer engaged in neglect and dishonesty in his dealings with the clients. The Committee found that Mr. Brammer failed to adequately disclose that he was not licensed in either Virginia or Maryland, where the trust was formed, and the trustee and beneficiary lived. He also did not disclose that he was the only attorney at his firm and that a Maryland attorney he associated with was not an employee or partner of his firm.
Furthermore, Mr. Brammer enlisted the assistance of H. Franklin Green, a convicted felon and former member of the D.C. Bar who had been disbarred for financial misconduct, without fully disclosing Green’s background to his clients. The clients were led to believe that Green was an attorney working in Brammer’s law office.
The Committee also found that Mr. Brammer failed to provide regular billing updates or invoices, leading to a surprise when the clients received their first invoice for legal services, which exceeded the initial estimate of $30,000. Ms. Whearty and Mr. Easley ultimately paid Mr. Brammer $26,000 in fees.
Mr. Brammer has since established a bank account to repay Ms. Whearty the $10,000 awarded to her by the Attorney/Client Arbitration Board (ACAB). He has agreed to pay her lump sums of $1,000 periodically until the full amount is refunded.
The Hearing Committee concluded that Mr. Brammer violated several District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct, including failing to keep his clients informed about the status of their matter, failing to explain the matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit his clients to make informed decisions, working with an attorney who was not in the same firm without advising his clients in writing, and engaging in reckless conduct rising to dishonesty by misleading his clients.
In addition to the suspension and probation, the Committee recommended that Mr. Brammer consult with the D.C. Bar’s Practice Management Advisory Service (PMAS) to review his prior discipline and his law practice to avoid continuing to commit the same ethics breaches. He must also provide Disciplinary Counsel with monthly documentation of his progress in repaying Ms. Whearty and notify all current and new clients of his probationary status.
The recommendation now goes to the D.C. Court of Appeals for final approval.
According to Avvo, Mr. Brammer is a mergers and acquisitions lawyer in Washington, DC. He acquired his law license in DC in 2002.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
