Since then, the organization has received eight more complaints from clients or other lawyers regarding Fargey, a bar association spokeswoman said. The bar opened its investigation into Micah Fargey in April 2020 after receiving a complaint from a woman who said Fargey failed to prepare for a hearing on her case, failed to follow record-filing procedures, and has not for weeks communicates with her bar records that The Oregonian / OregonLive received through a request for public records.
She urged any Fargey customer who has a complaint to contact the Oregon State Bar.
His license was suspended in March 2021 for failure to respond to the bar association’s investigation into his behavior, according to attorney files. The organization’s spokeswoman Kateri Walsh said Friday that Fargey had failed to respond to multiple inquiries.
“We’re getting more and more complaints,” she said, noting the latest one that came in that week. “We’re worried that there will be more customers.”
Fargey didn’t reply to an email from The Oregonian / OregonLive on Friday; he could not be reached by phone.
One client filed a written complaint with the Bar saying that he had paid Fargey $ 3,000 for legal advice, and Fargey refused to comply. The man said Fargey did not return any emails, calls or text messages. When the man reached Fargey, the lawyer promised to do work he never finished, the ad said.
“His actions,” wrote the man in his bar complaint, “make me abandoned, vulnerable at work, anxious, anxious, nervous, confused, angry, cheated.”
One woman complained in May and said after paying Fargey an advance she had rarely heard from him.
The other complaints against Fargey reflect similar issues: payment, followed by lack of follow-up and dismal communication.
“He also didn’t issue a detailed receipt or invoice to show me how much he charged me,” she told the bar in her complaint. “Micah kept pressuring me to get more money.”
Fargey practices labor law and was admitted to the bar in 2009, according to the bar association. He received a warning from the Bar Association in 2013 for improperly contacting the court on one case without notifying the opposing party.
Walsh said the organization that governs legal practice in Oregon will bring the case to the state’s Professional Responsibility Board this month for approval to bring ethical charges against Fargey.
If this case progresses, the Bar Association will initiate formal disciplinary proceedings. He can defend himself as part of this process. A trial that consists of three members appointed by the Oregon Supreme Court can impose sanctions that may include revocation of his license to practice law.
– Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie
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