Reading that another attorney has been disbarred is never good news; we don’t delight in the misery of others. But we can learn lessons from their mistakes. Let’s take a deeper dive into The North Carolina State Bar v. Erickson to see how we can more understand how to better serve clients.

Ms. Erickson was admitted to the North Carolina State Bar in 2015. She began her career at a law firm, but was discharged in 2018 after certain grievances were filed against her with the State Bar. Those grievances are as follows:

Complaint 1:

Ms. Erickson represented Client 1 in a proceeding to sell the home of Client 1’s deceased husband. Ms. Erickson attempted to notify Client 1’s children and obtain their consent to the sale of the home. In a meeting with Ms. Erickson, Client 1 presented a man that Client 1 claimed to be her son. The man signed the required document and Ms. Erickson notarized it. The man was, in fact, not Client 1’s son. Ms. Erickson did not check the man’s identification upon notarization.

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