NORMAN, Okla. - Alyssa Graham says she was blindsided.
“I didn't know what was going to happen, because I love my son,” she said.
It’s alleged her attorney, Ron Boone, nearly cost her to lose joint custody of her kid.
“[My] heart sinks,” she said. “The entire state thinks I'm an absent parent.”
Alyssa blames Boone and says he neglected her case, ignored her calls and was a no show in court.
She didn't connect the dots until her ex's attorney dropped a letter in the mail.
“If I would have missed this court date, they said they were going to default on my case, give all rights to my ex, because it looked like I didn't care, I didn't care to go to court, I didn't care to fill out this paperwork,” she said.
That’s when Alyssa did some digging.
Turns out, Boone can't even practice law right now.
The Oklahoma Bar Association suspended him for six months in February for neglecting another case and bailing on that client.
Court records show Boone was first reprimanded in 2010 and three years later for similar problems.
Oklahoma Bar Association Executive Director, John Williams, says attorneys are required to let their clients know when they get suspended or disbarred.
He says, if that didn’t happen, then “that in of itself could be another violation of another rule.”
Alyssa’s mom says Boone also left her in the dark.
He was paid $500 to help her switch over a deed into her name, but that never happened either.
We’re told Boone is rarely at his office anymore.
We got word he's been doing work for an attorney in Oklahoma City.
We tried him there, but he refused to talk to us about his suspension or the complaints.
Alyssa and her mom say they have no choice but to file their own complaints with the Oklahoma Bar Association, which could result in a new hearing for this wayward lawyer and additional suspension or disbarment.
“We're serious about this,” Williams said. “I have a license to practice law and, every time someone who's not meeting the standards or playing by the rules or not keeping their practice competent, that damages all of us.”
Lucky for Alyssa she got to her custody court hearing in the nick of time.
“I went in there, took care of it [and] represented myself,” she said. “We came to an agreement. Now, we're just looking to settle it in writing.”
We'll let you know how this one plays out.
File complaint against an Oklahoma Attorney.