Go directly to jail

Every McHenry County resident should read this morning's article about Mathew Bunda and the bills from his lawyer, Rhonda Rosenthal. In the print edition, it's on Page 1, top right - "the" premier front-page placement. Online, if you are searching for the article after today, try "mathew" (one -t-) or "bunda".

I don't know either party but, in my opinion, Judge Zopp put the wrong person in jail.

Granted, Bunda should not have stiffed the judge on two court appearances. If a judge orders you to court, you had better be there. Even if you have to take the day off; even if you have to take it off without pay, which is probably Bunda's case. Would he lose his job if he took a day off to go to court for a five-minute appearance? He's lucky. With a last name starting with B-, he'd be in and out of court in no time. Assuming, of course, that his case was heard when first called and not "passed" until later in the court call.

Now, why do I think Judge Zopp put the wrong person in jail?

How did Bunda, apparently a fairly low-income earner, ever run up an $18,000 legal bill in a divorce? At $225.00/hour, Rosenthal's $18,000 bill for legal services would mean 80 hours of legal work - two entire weeks. And all done by her; none by a paralegal at a lower billing rate. But maybe some hours were billed at lower per-hour rates. Not a lot of time over a two-year period. But far too many billable hours for a person earning $13.00/hour.

I only know what is in this morning's paper about his case, but I am very familiar with the case of a woman in the McHenry County court system. Her lawyer charged $400/hour, and the meter ran and ran. Telephone conference here; conference with co-attorney there; court appearance; travel time; you name it. Every month her bill went up about $3,000.

Her income? $3,000/month. Gross income. And she was out of work for six months following an automobile accident.

If any attorney continues to record billable hours far beyond the client's ability to pay and then tries to collect it, then I say that attorney is guilty of something. What that "something" is, I'm not sure, but I'll bet there is something in the Bar Association guidelines or ethics code that tells them not to do this.

Read carefully the payment arrangements offered by both sides, as described by the reporter.

Attorney Rosenthal has bills to pay, too, and she wants $7,500-8,000 right now and $200-300/week. Bunda reportedly earns $13.00/hour ($520/week), and that's "gross" income - before taxes. And the article says he is a seasonal landscape worker. Seasonal means there are many weeks during the year that he probably doesn't work.

Where does Rosenthal think he is going to get the money to pay her? Bunda's family offers $2,500-3,000 right away and $100/week. Rosenthal countered with $8,000 right now. The twain shall never meet.

Rosenthal's engagement letter would have contained clauses related to continued representation if Bunda didn't pay. She is quoted in the newspaper story as saying, "Frankly, I was a sucker. He promised he would make payments. He promised he was good for it."

Judge Zopp ought to be asking her why she dug an $18,000 hole for Bunda and why she did not fairly quickly have a reasonable belief that he would not be able to pay her. And Judge Zopp ought to ask her why she didn't stop representing Bunda when his unpaid bill reached $1,000-2,000, as soon as she realized he wasn't paying and was very likely not to be able to pay her.

How many other attorneys practicing in McHenry County continue to put in hours for a client who will never be able to pay his bill?