When you hire an attorney, you expect them to be honest and reliable. So imagine if they skip town taking your cash and defense; It happened to several people in Western Washington and they called me to help track down their lawyer and money.
The search for Ali Nakkour took me to the small north central town of Loomis, just 30 miles from the Canadian border. What's the defense lawyer doing up here? He's running a bar and restaurant called Sully's.
"I assumed he would take care of his practice and that there would be an attorney that would replace him. It's come to my attention that is not the case," said Snohomish County District Court Judge Rick Leo.
John Wright is one of Nakkour's previous clients. Wright said he paid Nakkour $2,500 for representation. But now taxpayers will pick up the bill for Wright's defense because he'll have to hire a public defender. And he's not the only one. Nakkour had several wasted court dates in two counties.
"Now I have to go to court again just to straighten all of this out," said Wright.
I went to the Washington State Bar Association to find out what's in store for Nakkour. Douglas Ende, chief disciplinary counsel, told me Nakkour not only abandoned his clients he took their files too.
"If a lawyer is not showing up to court dates and is not communicating with clients and not protecting client interest without reasonable justification or excuse that could potentially result in disciplinary sanctions," explained Ende.
So why did Nakkour to skip town? When I caught up with him at Sully's bar in Loomis, he told me he's depressed.
"I can't focus on people's cases. A major depressive disorder is what prohibits people from dealing with things," explained Nakkour. As for his client's money, "I'm working with the bar to help them pay it back; and then iI can pay them back."
Following our interview the state Bar Association temporarily suspended Nakkour. Then he failed to respond the complaint. He now faces discipline which could include disbarment.
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