Winston-Salem attorney reprimanded

Listen to this article

Attorney: Melvyn H. Brown Jr.

Location: Winston-Salem

Bar membership: Member since 1976

Disciplinary action: Reprimanded on Aug. 7

Background: Brown failed to keep a client adequately informed about the status of her case, including Brown’s motion to withdraw from the representation. As a result, the client did not have the opportunity to be heard at a temporary custody hearing and lost custody of her son. In a separate matter, Brown represented a client in a personal injury matter. The defendant insurance company issued a settlement check to Brown’s trust account, but Brown was not maintaining a trust account. Brown falsely represented to the client that he had an attorney’s lien on the proceeds of that settlement.

Previous discipline: Brown was admonished in 1990 for failure to communicate and neglect in five cases and suspended from the practice of law for one year in 2002 for splitting of fees with a non-lawyer, failure to supervise a non-lawyer assistant, and solicitation of clients by a non-lawyer. That suspension was stayed.