Minnesota attorney, Thomas Lowe, was recently suspended from the practice of law for having sex with his client.
Despite the generally negative view the public takes of attorneys, attorneys must, and usually do, abide by a fairly strict ethical code. For example, many assume that if a lawyer is speaking, he’s lying. However, if a lawyer lies, and is caught, such a violation would likely end his or her career.
One of the ethical rules for attorneys holds that, “[a] lawyer shall not have sexual relations with a client unless a consensual sexual relationship existed between them when the client-lawyer relationship commenced.” E.R. 1.8(j). The rationale underlying the rule is explained in the comments to the rule:
The relationship between lawyer and client is a fiduciary one in which the lawyer occupies the highest position of trust and confidence. The relationship is almost always unequal; thus, a sexual relationship between lawyer and client can involve unfair exploitation of the lawyer’s fiduciary role, in violation of the lawyer’s basic ethical obligation not to use the trust of the client to the client’s disadvantage. In addition, such a relationship presents a significant danger that, because of the lawyer’s emotional involvement, the lawyer will be unable to represent the client without impairment of the exercise of independent professional judgment . . . .
State bars take these rules very seriously. Thomas Lowe recently received a reminder of that fact. When Thomas was approached by a long-time friend to handle her divorce, he agreed to take the case. Some time after his representation began, he propositioned his client. The two began having intercourse.
Although this alone was clearly a violation of the ethical rules, Lowe took it a step further by billing his client for their sexual encounters. He typically coded their meeting as “drafting memo” or “meeting.”
In March of 2012, Lowe’s wife discovered that her husband was having an affair. Lowe immediately ended the relationship and withdrew as attorney. Lowe’s former client attempted suicide. At the hospital she disclosed the affair with her attorney to hospital staff.
When the Minnesota Supreme Court began an investigation, Lowe admitted the allegations unconditionally. He was suspended from the practice of law indefinitely and for no less than 15 months.