North Andover Lawyer Suspended For 1 Year For Inadequate Counsel

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover attorney Claude David Grayer was suspended for one year and one day, after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld a prior decision, Monday. The court found that Grayer failed or neglected multiple clients as well as billing clients fees without clear accounting, even after being asked. In one case, his advice led to a client being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and spending six months in detention.

In the immigration case, in 2014, Grayer's client was charged with violating a restraining order. The client told Grayer he was not a citizen and he was worried that a conviction would affect his immigration status. Despite this, Grayer told his client that it would be "okay" for him to "admit to sufficient facts" — considered a conviction. In 2015, ICE arrested the client, and he was detained until he had his plea erased "on the ground of ineffective assistance of counsel."

In another case, a divorce case, Grayer was found to have filed inconsistent paperwork and to have failed to provide other necessary documents. Grayer's client had to get the documents herself, according to the decision.

In that case, and two others, he failed to account for fees he charged clients.

"In this case, the respondent failed to provide competent representation in one matter, and neglected another," the court wrote. "At least one client was harmed. The respondent also failed to communicate reasonably with his clients and successor counsel, and to cooperate with bar counsel."

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.