March 1, 2002

Fee Arbitration

RE: David VanDyke

Attached is the copy of the complaint to the Ethics Panel which gives rise to this request for Fee Arbitration. If this panel requires a copy of all the exhibits cited in the Ethics Complaint and can not obtain them from the Board of Overseers please advise.

VanDyke knew that all the documents cited in my file would challenge the honesty of the State's witnesses one of which was his friend Peter DeTroy. VanDyke repeatedly stated, "There is nothing in your file to back up your claim that you were never warned by Dyer and DeTroy." VanDyke went on to state over and over, "That if we go into court and call Dyer and DeTroy liars with no documentation to back it up the Court will give you a very severe sentence." VanDyke's continuous lies subjected my family, including my 81 year old mother and my eight year old son, to the terror that I would be sent to prison for up to five years for a crime that VanDyke knew that I did not knowingly commit.

I had pled guilty twice to these felonies under severe distress from VanDyke and knowing that VanDyke had not prepared me for trial. I was convinced by a friend to review my file to possibly find something to help me at the conclusion of my sentencing hearing between April 24th and July 24th of 2001. I resisted my friend's urgings repeatedly saying, "VanDyke has told me there is nothing in the file to help me for the last three years. What could I possibly find now?" On May 23rd I found the mother lode. Since then I have found and/or understood many more documents contained in the file. Had VanDyke not lied to me about the contents of my file I would not have engaged him as my lawyer. Such lies defrauded me of all fees paid to date and those fees billed but unpaid. I could not, until this time, file this complaint for the following reasons. Beyond the fact that VanDyke had totally failed to prepare me for both trial dates (even the one that the State didn't know about) he tried to intimidate my new lawyer, Thomas Hallett. In a phone call to Hallett he said, "You'll be the next lawyer that Doyle will claim didn't do a good job for him." This prompted Hallett to send me his letter dated June 26, 2001, to "cover himself." Hallett also convinced me that we needed VanDyke to both sign an affidavit and testify to his incompetence for my Motion to Vacate my guilty plea hearing. But that wasn't enough for VanDyke. He wanted the extra protection of my signature on a release from any future lawsuit for malpractice. I refused until Hallett convinced me, literally minutes before the hearing started; to sign it under the most severe coercion that VanDyke could have applied.

Because of all of VanDyke's previous misconduct the lawyer representing me for an auto accident dropped me as a client because of the guilty plea. VanDyke then took over that accident case by default. Now his firm, Berman & Simmons wants to withdraw from the accident case leaving me without counsel. This action would be additional damage as a product of VanDyke's original misrepresentation, fraud and malpractice.

Consequently, I request that the fees paid to date, $16,158.26 are ordered to be refunded and that the Panel order that all other fees billed but unpaid be cancelled.

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