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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission is investigating the Kokomo attorney who abandoned his law practice last year and left the country.
The appellate docket shows eight cases filed Monday against Bradley Hamilton in which the Disciplinary Commission seeks to suspend his license for noncooperation. Disciplinary investigations are typically confidential until formal charges are filed; however, the filing to ask for suspension of an attorney’s license is public record.
Hamilton was still accepting clients and collecting fees the same week he apparently went to Australia to join his wife and children. The court appointed Brent Dechert as surrogate to wind down his practice. Dechart said that Hamilton told him in late summer he was leaving Indiana after he unsuccessfully attempted to sell his law practice. Before he left, Dechert said Hamilton asked him if he would consent to serve as a surrogate.
He previously described the state of Hamilton’s practice as “a mess.”
It’s unclear how much money his clients may have lost. As many as 80 appear to have pre-paid for bankruptcy petitions that Hamilton never filed. He also left behind around 150 active cases.
Some of his clients learned their attorney skipped town when they showed up for court dates and he didn’t. Dechert told Indiana Lawyer in November some of Hamilton’s clients had filed or planed to file complaints with the Howard County Bar and Disciplinary Commission.
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