Today I took a photo of 50 Monroe in downtown Grand Rapids – right across the street from my office.
The transformation of 50 Monroe, where my firm’s office used to be located for almost 20 years, is pretty fun to
watch.
I look forward to seeing the finished product.
As I posted a few days ago, there is a lot of development in Grand Rapids that makes downtown a fun place to be.
Now on to the topic of my post.
Lawyers are an easy target for scams…
I get strange e-mails all the time.
Most of these are allegedly from people from foreign countries, asking for legal services, or for me to assist with certain financial transactions that would compensate me significant money for little work.
This morning’s email.
Early this morning I received an e-mail from what appeared to be one of the attorneys at my office asking me if I was in the office and to respond to his e-mail and assist him with an urgent matter. The tone of the e-mail seemed strange.
Looking closer at the e-mail source, it was an impostor e-mail address.
Who knows what information my “colleague” was going to ask me to provide him with because he “didn’t have access” that morning.
Nice try.
The lawyer scams are getting more creative these days.
Million Dollar Check.
Several years ago I received a nice check in the mail addressed to my law firm for approximately $1 Million.
It was related to a “request” from a foreign company (very far away, too far away to meet in person) to retain me as counsel in a business transaction in Michigan.
They wanted me to deposit the approx. $1 million check into our firm trust account, then disburse the check to the other party (less my legal fees, of course)
My first thought when the check came in…
Do they really think I am that stupid?
I know better.
Then it got me thinking, if I know better, then why do these scam artists really think I am going to fall for their ploys?
Honestly, I receive countless of similar emails, fortunately, most of these emails get sent to my spam folder.
The answer becomes obvious when I peruse news headlines:
“Estate planning lawyer gets 6 years in $46 million scheme preying on terminally ill”
How awful is this headline? It breaks my heart just reading it.
“Unwitting lawyer is suspended for arranging client loans to secure Nigerian inheritance”
Just perform a google search and you can find other stories of lawyers in unethical situations…
“Attorney Pleads guilty to stealing $1.3 Million from clients”
“Traverse City Lawyer to Stand Trial, Accused of Embezzling from Elderly Clients”
The list goes on and on.
Well, there is, literally, my answer to my own question.
What is going on with our world?
As hard as it is for me to believe, these are real stories.
To answer my own question, the reason scam artists direct schemes at lawyers is because some lawyers fall for the schemes!
These con artists are relying on dollar signs trumping common sense and sound judgment in lawyers.
Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
I personally don’t believe that most people, including the people in the referenced headlines, wake up one day and decide to commit a crime, or make a serious lapse in judgment (like wiring a million dollars to a company in Nigeria) that costs them and others dearly.
I think people start with small compromises, that lead to big compromises. The proverbial “frog in the boiling water”
The compromises that “appear to be right” in their own minds, but leads to devastation.
A Call to Leaders. Self-Examination.
As leaders in our families, business, non-profit, church, community, we find ourselves in positions with some varying degrees of power.
That power can easily be abused.
In small ways that lead to big ways.
This is a good call for daily self-examination: am I placing safeguard in my life to keep me from taking small steps in the wrong direction?
Questions? Comments?
e-mail: Jeshua@dwlawpc.com
Twitter: @JeshuaTLauk
Purpose Driven General Counsel 