Glendale, AZ 85308
13 January 2005 | Disbarred (20 years, 3 months ago) Disbarment 03-J-01425 |
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11 July 2004 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (20 years, 9 months ago) Ordered inactive 03-J-01425 |
27 March 2004 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (21 years, 1 month ago) Ordered inactive 03-J-01425 |
12 December 2003 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 03-J-01425 (21 years, 4 months ago) |
4 September 2002 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (22 years, 8 months ago) Suspended, failed to pay fees |
1 January 1999 | Inactive (26 years, 4 months ago) |
7 November 1997 | Active (27 years, 6 months ago) |
12 August 1996 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (28 years, 8 months ago) Suspended, failed to pay fees |
12 June 1991 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (33 years, 11 months ago) |
January 13, 2005 MAXIMILIANO SERRANO GARCIA [#153387], 49, of Glendale, Ariz. was disbarred Jan. 13, 2005, and ordered to comply with rule 955. Garcia was disbarred in Arizona for misconduct that would warrant discipline in California had it been committed in this state.The Arizona Supreme Court found that Garcia repeatedly engaged in dishonest conduct by telling his clients he would meet them, repay their fees and perform the services for which he was hired. Instead, for the most part he abandoned them. When the Arizona State Bar petitioned a court for a conservatorship to take over his practice, Garcia did not show up for the hearing. He was ordered to make restitution to seven clients totaling $49,500.In one matter, for instance, Garcia represented a defendant facing several misdemeanor criminal charges and probation revocation. He charged him $10,000, although the client paid only $7,500. He had the client admit to being in the U.S. illegally which the court later found to be an erroneous admission. Garcia withdrew from representation prematurely and his fee was excessive.Another client paid him $5,000, but he did no work and did not refund the fee.A woman hired Garcia to represent her husband in an immigration deportation hearing and tried to contact him to no avail. Eventually, the husband received a deportation letter. When she tried to take the letter to Garcia’s office, she found it abandoned.A woman paid Garcia $10,000 in cash and gave him a car worth $10,000 to represent her husband. Garcia did no work and did not appear in court. Although he promised to refund the fee, he never did.In recommending Garcia’s disbarment, the California State Bar Court noted that he abandoned eight clients in four years, failed to perform legal services, communicate with clients or reimburse unearned fees, and both misled and overcharged his clients. |