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In the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County Case No. C-2004-099310
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND

Misc. Docket AG No. 26 September Term, 2004 ______________________________________

ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND

v.

VIRGIL DUANE PARKER

______________________________________ Bell, C.J. Raker Wilner Cathell Harrell Battaglia Greene, JJ. ______________________________________ Opinion by Wilner, J. ______________________________________ Filed: October 4, 2005

The Attorney Grievance Commission, through Bar Counsel and in conformance with Maryland Rule 16-751, filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action against respondent, Virgil Duane Parker, alleging violations of Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) 1.4(b), 1.5(a) and (b), 1.7(b), 1.8(a), and 8.4(b), (c), and (d). We referred the petition to Judge Michael Loney, of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, to conduct a hearing and submit to this Court his proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Judge Loney conducted a hearing and, on March 2, 2005, submitted his findings and conclusions. He concluded that respondent had violated MRPC 1.5(a) and 1.8(a)(2), made no finding as to MRPC 1.7, and concluded that respondent had not violated the other MRPC provisions alleged by Bar Counsel. Bar Counsel excepts to Judge Loney's failure to find violations of MRPC 1.4(b), 1.8(a)(1), 1.7(b), and 8.4(c) and (d). Respondent excepts to the judge's finding of a violation of MRPC 1.8(a)(2).

BACKGROUND Respondent was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1985 and to the Tennessee Bar in 1993. He is presently on a voluntary inactive status in Tennessee, where he now resides. Prior to moving to Tennessee, he practiced law and operated a real estate brokerage firm in Easton, Maryland. For a time, he served as counsel to the town Planning and Zoning Commission and handled real estate and contract matters for the Commission. He was regarded by colleagues who testified in his favor as being "very organized," having a "good knowledge about his cases," and being "a Nervous Nellie when it came to doing things the

right way." Commencing in 1993, respondent provided a variety of legal services to Reverend and Mrs. G. David McPeake, an elderly couple who, at the time, lived in Cambridge. The matter before us concerns his representation of the McPeakes in connection with the sale of a farm owned by them in Jackson, Tennessee. Respondent began advising the McPeakes with respect to the matter in June, 1993. Indeed, that was the initial purpose of his representation. His written agreement with them was to charge $100 an hour for his services, and he billed them at that rate in June, 1993 and in June through December of 1998. There were no billings between June, 1993 and June, 1998, because there was little or no activity regarding the farm. In October, 1998, when efforts to sell the farm recommenced, the McPeakes, upon respondent's suggestion, entered into a management contract with First American National Bank in Tennessee to manage the property until sold. Under that agreement, which respondent had, in part, negotiated with the bank, the bank was entitled to a fee of 5% of the gross sale price of the property. At about that same time, according to respondent, he and the McPeakes orally agreed that, in place of his hourly charges, he, too, would receive a fee equivalent to a 5% commission on the sale of the property. Notwithstanding that oral modification, respondent continued to bill the McPeakes on an hourly basis for legal services through April, 2002.1 He explained that the arrangement somehow reverted to hourly billing

In June, 1993, respondent billed the McPeakes $485, including $350 for the preparation of a contract of sale. No charges were made afterward until May, 1998, when he charged $595 for various meeting and teleconference calls relating to the sale of the (continued...)
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after July, 1999. The farm, consisting of between 70 and 100 acres of basically raw land, was sold in three parcels

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