A Swampscott attorney’s law license has been suspended for two years after she allegedly overbilled and made misrepresentations to a client.
Effective after Dec. 27, Pamela Harris-Daley cannot represent new clients or engage in any legal matter of any nature, according to a report from the Board of Bar Overseers of the Supreme Judicial Court. The suspension comes after she billed a client nearly $60,000, failed to maintain required records, and used some of the cash to pay her personal bills, said the board.
In 2014, the client, whom Harris-Daley defended after he was sued over a car crash, signed a fee agreement in which he agreed to pay her $300-$325 per hour, according to a summary of the board’s findings. After the case was settled in March 2015, Harris-Daley sent the client an invoice in which she purported to adjust a bill, adding 24.5 hours to dates that had already been covered on a previous bill.
Harris-Daley also billed 4.5 hours of time for attending a court hearing that never happened, the board said.
In June 2015, she sent the client a final accounting of his funds, in which she charged him nearly $10,000 for a medical expert and an investigator, but the board’s findings showed she only paid $900 to the medical expert.
The board voted in favor of suspending her, citing what it called a “clearly excessive fee” of nearly $60,000, misusing and failing to return the balance of a client’s funds, writing checks on her client funds for personal expenses, failing to provide regular itemized bills and statements, and failing to maintain required records.
The board found her in violation of engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, deceit, fraud, and misrepresentation. In October, Harris-Daley and the Office of Bar Counsel reached an agreement under which a two-year suspension would be recommended.
Harris-Daley declined to comment.
