Maine Supreme Judicial Court changes probation and monitoring order on Scarborough attorney over a misconduct case

On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, the Supreme Judicial Court State of Maine granted a motion to amend probation and monitoring order filed by attorney Clifford M. Ginn and the Board of Overseers of the Bar.  The case is entitled ” The Board of Overseers of the Bar v. Clifford M. Ginn” and was brought by the Board of Overseers of the Bar. Case #20-11.

The charges cited rules of professional conduct 1.15(a), 1.15(b)(1), 1.15(b)(2)(IV), 1.15(d), 8.1(a), 8.4(a)(c)(d) .

The rules of professional conduct can be found here. 

The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing: 

By order of the Court dated February 8, 2021, and by agreement, Clifford M. Ginn was placed under interim suspension pursuant to the agreement of the parties. S. E., of Portland, Maine – Ginn’s client – filed a Grievance Complaint against Gin. There arose a dispute between Ginn and S.E. about the fees owed Ginn for the services performed on the other matters. Because of the dispute, Ginn did not immediately deliver the Settlement Funds to S.E. Ginn, and Attorney J.B. engaged in negotiations. Ginn represented in his formal response to the Grievance Complaint filed by his attorney, that on February 7, 2O2O, Attorney J.B. emailed Ginn wiring instructions in order for Ginn to transfer the Settlement Funds to Attorney J.B. to hold in escrow pending the resolution of the dispute. 

The filing states:

‘Ginn stated that unbeknownst to him the email had gone into spam, that Ginn’s failure to respond led to S.E. filing the Grievance Complaint, and that the first time Ginn learned of tJre request was when he received the Grievance Complaint and that he “did as requested and deposited the disputed funds into Attorney B’s account.

Ginn retained counsel to represent him and his counsel filed a formal response on June 19,2O2O. Through the formal response, Ginn stated that he did not have a client trust account at the time of the settlement at issue because he typically did not take possession of client funds as part of his practice.’

The filing continues:

‘On February 7, 2020, Attorney J.B. again reminded Ginn by email that M.R. Prof. Conduct 1.15(b(2)(v) did not allow him to “hold hostage the undisputed funds from one case in order to gain an advantage in negotiating disputed fees in another matter” and the email cited to comment 3 of Rule 23. After the Grievance Complaint was filed on March 2, 2020, Ginn and Attorney J.B. once again engaged in communications aimed at the resolution of the disputed fees and payment of the Settlement Funds, as well as the potential dismissal of the Grievance Complaint filed by S.E. Ginn and Attorney J.B learned that it was not possible under the Maine Bar Rules for S.E. to withdraw the complaint.’

The filing further alleges that:

‘Ginn deposited the money he transferred out of his operating account into his personal checking account. Ginn admitted that “the purpose of each of these transfers was to make the funds available for use by Attorney Ginn, personally.”

After consideration of all the factors set forth above and the circumstances of the case, it was ordered that Clifford M. Ginn is suspended from the practice of law for two years, all but one year suspended, with credit for the time he has served the interim suspension. However, on November 16, 2022, the court issued an order amending the probation and monitoring which states:

‘The Plaintiff, the Board of Overseers of the Bar, has filed an unopposed Motion to Amend Probation and Monitoring Order. Without objection, the Motion is granted. The first sentence in Paragraph 1 of the Probation and Monitoring Order, dated March 30, 2022, is hereby amended by substituting “For a period of one year from the date of reinstatement, Clifford M. Ginn (hereinafter “Ginn”) shall be on probation and shall be monitored in his practice by Stephen J. Schwartz, Esq.” for the current first sentence in Paragraph 1. Paragraphs 4, 16, 17, and 18 of the Probation and Monitoring Order are also amended to require the Monitor to provide to Ginn copies of notice or reports cited in those paragraphs, at the time the notice or reports are provided to the Court and to Bar Counsel.”

As of today, Mr. Ginn is listed on the website, of the law firm Gin Law, LLC as a practicing attorney. His info can be found online at martindale.com. He attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 2004. Ginn practices in Scarborough, Maine. He has been licensed in Maine, license #9919.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.