Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection Awards Over $750,000 in 15 Claims

An attorney who stole nearly $300,000 from his client's estate and a lawyer who devised a mortgage scam to steal from a retiree accounted for the bulk of $753,861.59 returned by the trustees of the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection Fund's during the second quarter of 2024. Between April and June 2024, the trustees approved 15 claims against nine disciplined or deceased New Jersey attorneys, including Thomas Williams and Martin Fishman.

A Ramsey resident trusted Williams to prepare a will and estate plan that would support his disabled daughter after his death. Instead of honoring his client's wishes, Williams stole $299,659.80 from the estate over 12 years. An associate attorney in Williams' law office who worried about the wellbeing of the client's daughter provided the Fund with evidence of the theft. After substantiating the claim, the trustees returned the money embezzled by Williams.

The Fund's trustees also awarded $400,000 - the maximum amount payable under Fund rules - to a Florida retiree from whom Martin Fishman had swindled more than twice that amount through a series of fraudulent mortgages and loans.

Just one-half of one percent of the state's lawyers ever become the subjects of approved claims before the Fund. The Fund's trustees, who are appointed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, use funds contributed annually by New Jersey's attorneys to reimburse victimized clients. No tax dollars are used in support of either claim awards or the Fund's administration.

Other awards made between April and June 2024 arose from the theft of settlement funds in personal injury matters and cases in which lawyers were paid a fee but failed to perform any of the services for which they were paid.

The Fund was created by the New Jersey State Bar Association in 1961 and, at the Bar's request, was expanded by the Supreme Court in 1969 to cover all New Jersey attorneys. There are 99,667 lawyers admitted to practice in New Jersey. In its 55-year history, the Fund has paid 4,916 claims against 903 New Jersey attorneys in a total amount of $99,257,772.50. The Fund requires repayment by respondents as well as other culpable parties and to date has recovered $26,567,364.92.

Court Rule 1:28 defines the Fund's jurisdiction. A claimant can receive up to $400,000 if the claim is approved, and the Fund can pay up to $1.5 million in claims against any one lawyer, although the Supreme Court can allow the Fund to exceed the $1.5 million aggregate limit. For a claim to be compensable, it must be filed against a member of the New Jersey bar who was acting as an attorney or fiduciary at the time of the alleged incident. Unless deceased, the attorney must have been disbarred or suspended from the bar or convicted of embezzlement or other misappropriation of property. Cases involving legal malpractice, negligence or fee disputes are not compensable by the Fund.

Claim forms can be found online at https://www.njcourts.gov/public/get-help/lfcp or by writing to the New Jersey Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection, Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, P.O. Box 961, Trenton, NJ 08625, or by calling 855-533-FUND (3863). There is no filing fee and claimants assisted in their claims by practicing attorneys receive this assistance free of charge. The Fund welcomes inquiries about its mission and procedures.

Attached is the second quarter 2024 list of claims paid with the status of each respondent attorney under the Supreme Court disciplinary system.