## Facts

- Stacey Casper, a Wyoming lawyer, represented a client in a divorce and child-custody matter under a December 2011 Legal Services Agreement (LSA).
- The LSA used a minimum billing increment of one-quarter hour (15 minutes) for work on the client’s case, including telephone calls and tasks such as reviewing and signing documents.
- The client paid a $5,000 retainer.
- The underlying domestic-relations case was adjourned for about six months and later reset for trial.
- Before the case resumed, Casper moved to withdraw because the client had not paid her fees; the district court granted withdrawal, and the client finished the case without counsel.
- Casper’s billing records reflected charges the Board viewed as excessive, including:
  - Billing the client twice for reviewing the fee agreement.
  - Making 106 entries billing 15-minute increments for tasks that could not reasonably require that much time, including reviewing and signing one-page documents.
  - In some instances, billing two separate 15-minute increments to review and sign the same document.
  - Billing for time spent on a motion to continue that was needed because of Casper’s own scheduling conflicts.
- A Decree of Divorce entered April 30, 2013 identified certain real property as marital property and ordered it sold.
- On May 13, 2013, Casper caused a “Lien Statement” to be recorded with the Natrona County Clerk claiming the former client owed $18,717.05 in fees and costs and asserting a lien on real property described in the decree; she cited Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 29-1-312 and attached a detailed “Client Ledger.”
- The property identified in the recorded materials was titled in the ex-husband’s name; after he questioned the lien, Casper did not correct it, and the ex-husband filed a complaint that led to disciplinary proceedings.
- The Board of Professional Responsibility brought disciplinary charges. Casper and the Board submitted a stipulated Report and Recommendation for a 30-day suspension, with Casper admitting violations of Rules 1.5, 1.9(c), and 8.4(c) of the Wyoming Rules of Professional Conduct.

## Issues

1. Whether Casper’s repeated use of quarter-hour minimum billing for tasks that could not reasonably take that long (including duplicate billings) constituted charging an unreasonable or excessive fee under Rule 1.5.
2. Whether recording a lien and publicly filing detailed billing materials using information from the prior representation violated Rule 1.9(c) by using information relating to the representation to the former client’s disadvantage.
3. Whether Casper’s billing and lien-related conduct constituted dishonest conduct or misrepresentation under Rule 8.4(c), warranting discipline, and whether the Court should accept the parties’ stipulated sanction.

## Decision

- The Wyoming Supreme Court reviewed the stipulated Report and Recommendation and Casper’s admissions.
- The Court accepted the stipulation and approved the recommended sanction.
- The Court suspended Casper from the practice of law for thirty (30) days.
- The Court assessed the administrative fee and costs of the disciplinary proceeding against Casper, payable to the Wyoming State Bar.
- The Court issued a written opinion and order (rather than a summary adoption) because the fee and collection practices at issue were important to the Bar.

## Legal Principles

- A lawyer may not charge an unreasonable or excessive fee; a minimum-time billing clause does not excuse charges that are not reasonable in relation to the work performed. (Rule 1.5)
- Repeated quarter-hour charges for tasks that could not reasonably require that time, billing twice for the same work, and charging the client for delay caused by the lawyer’s scheduling conflicts can support a finding of excessive fees. (Rule 1.5)
- After representation ends, a lawyer may not use information relating to the representation to the disadvantage of the former client; placing detailed billing information into a publicly recorded lien filing may violate that duty. (Rule 1.9(c))
- Conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation is professional misconduct; billing and lien-related actions may satisfy this standard when they misstate what is owed or are otherwise deceptive. (Rule 8.4(c))
- In attorney-discipline matters, the Wyoming Supreme Court may accept stipulated discipline and impose suspension and costs while still issuing an opinion to address recurring professional-responsibility concerns.

## Conclusion

In Board of Professional Responsibility, Wyoming State Bar v. Casper, the Wyoming Supreme Court accepted a stipulated disciplinary recommendation and suspended attorney Stacey Casper for 30 days, assessing costs, based on admitted misconduct that included excessive quarter-hour billing practices (including duplicate and unreasonable time entries) and recording a lien with publicly filed billing details that disadvantaged a former client and supported findings under Rules 1.5, 1.9(c), and 8.4(c).


Board of Professional Responsibility, Wyoming State Bar v. Casper, 318 P.3d 790 (2014)