CSB recognizes attorney for undoing disbarred lawyer’s theft

By: Pat Murphy

CSB Chair Gary M. Weiner (left), honoree Mary M. Howie and SJC Justice Frank M. Gaziano

Mary M. Howie didn’t think much of it when she took on the case of a mother and daughter victimized by an unscrupulous lawyer who stole the proceeds from the sale of their home.

“Honestly, I didn’t think I was doing anything major,” the elder law attorney says. “I was just doing my job.”

So when Howie was recently informed that she had been selected to receive the Client Security Board’s William J. LeDoux Award, the news didn’t really sink in at first.

“OK, thank you very much,” Howie told the caller on the other end of the phone. “Are you going to be mailing that to me?”

But then Howie was told she would be receiving the prestigious award from a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court at an upcoming ceremony, and it dawned on her that maybe this was a big deal.

At an April 13 ceremony held in the Seven Justice Courtroom of Boston’s John Adams Courthouse, Justice Frank M. Gaziano presented the LeDoux award to Howie for securing $184,000 in compensation from the CSB on behalf of the two Massachusetts women who suffered significant financial losses due to the theft of funds by East Brookfield lawyer Harland L. Smith Jr.

Howie represented the deceased mother’s estate that had as remainder beneficiary a special needs trust, and the deceased mother’s daughter, who suffers from mental disabilities and was a beneficiary of the trust.

A member of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Howie says the matter was referred to her by Lia Marino, who had been representing the mother until she took a position in the state court system.

One of the first steps Howie took was to become the trustee for the special needs trust that had been established by the mother for her daughter and two sons.

Appearing before the CSB, Howie established that Smith in 2014 had received the net proceeds from the sale of real estate that was jointly owned by the mother and daughter.

But instead of handing over the proceeds to his clients, Smith used the money for his own purposes. Smith was disbarred in 2019 for intentionally misusing client funds in the mother-daughter matter as well as a case in which he represented a wife in a divorce proceeding.

In an April 5, 2019, disbarment order, Gaziano recounted Smith’s misdeeds regarding the real property sale in which he acted as trustee.

“On March 28, 2014, the respondent deposited to his IOLTA account $199,421 of the real estate proceeds and $1,022.69 in rental income due to the family,” Gaziano wrote. “From these proceeds, the respondent paid the client in the first matter the $160,000 that he owed her. The respondent also paid himself two checks in the amounts of $22,450 and $4,760, which he used for his own purposes, including payment of his personal taxes.”

In September 2020, the CSB awarded the mother’s estate $32,026 for the value of her life interest in the property. In October 2022, the board awarded $151,840 to the daughter under the special needs trust. The daughter’s share of the stolen proceeds equated to the value of her remainder interest in the property.

The case was Howie’s first effort representing claimants before the board. But she is quick to credit the CSB members and staff for helping her navigate the process.

“The board is very easy to interact with,” she says. “At the hearings, they ask great questions. They’re very dedicated people in their role of reimbursing clients for losses caused by attorney theft.”

In addition to disbarment, Smith was recently convicted of embezzlement stemming from his actions, according to Howie.

Howie is the 15th recipient of the LeDoux award, last presented in 2018.

The award was established in 1997 to honor the late William J. LeDoux, a member of the CSB from 1987 to 1997, and chair for seven years.

The award is given to a lawyer who, serving pro bono, demonstrates extraordinary skill and perseverance in representing one or more claimants before the board.

A member of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts bars, Howie maintains offices in the Granite State as well as in Andover and Woburn.

For now, Howie takes great satisfaction in the CSB’s award to the special needs trust, which benefits the daughter and her two siblings.

“The funds go a long way in improving the quality of life for these kids,” she says. “The daughter wanted to go to the [Andrea] Bocelli concert in Boston. This money goes to pay for her and a chaperone, because she can’t go alone. What a treat to be able to pay for something like that for her!”

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CSB recognizes attorney for undoing disbarred lawyer’s theft