A Cumberland County attorney has been suspended for a year and one day after she accepted fees from seven clients, but then failed to perform the work or provide timely refunds.
Kelly Elizabeth Keller, 49, who worked as a solo practitioner out of an office in Carlisle, failed the series of clients in business-related matters, including obtaining trademarks, over two and a half years and tied up thousands of dollars they had paid her, according to the notice of suspension from the state Supreme Court filed Monday.
The suspension is consistent with prior discipline for attorneys involving “serial neglect, lack of communication and retaining unearned fees,” according to the order. Keller had been practicing law since 2015.
In one instance, Keller didn’t tell a client she had been suspended and was not allowed to perform legal work, then falsely claimed to the disciplinary board that she didn’t have any clients to notify about the suspension.
Keller repaid money owed to clients last month as part of her cooperation with the disciplinary board regarding their complaints. According to the order from the board:
The largest refund was to a client who paid an upfront fee of $15,000 in May 2019 for representation on intellectual property and business-related matters.
After two years, the client fired Keller and requested $10,000 back for services that were not completed. Last month, Keller mailed the client a check for $4,164.
Another client hired Keller in November 2019 for legal...
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