A household regulation agency within the Denver Tech Heart is accusing a former worker of “clandestinely” working for his personal agency on firm time and enlisting a paralegal in his scheme.
Mark Smith, a divorce lawyer who lives in Littleton, has been practising regulation in Colorado since 1994 and has a spotless disciplinary file, based on state data.
In Could 2023, he was employed by the Thomas & Ahnell regulation agency, which makes use of the commerce identify Divorce Issues and has three workplaces alongside the Entrance Vary, based on the agency.
“Whereas performing work for Divorce Issues and utilizing Divorce Issues’ sources, Smith began a competing household regulation agency that gives related companies to equally located purchasers in the identical geographic space” because the agency’s Tech Heart workplace, its March 29 lawsuit alleges.
After creating Smith & Associates P.C., Smith obtained his personal purchasers, labored on their instances and billed them individually, all whereas working for Divorce Issues, that agency claims.
When the agency observed that Smith was taking calls from Unbundled Legal professional, an organization that generates leads for attorneys, Smith allegedly mentioned he was acquiring leads for Divorce Issues “when in reality these calls pertained to his clandestine actions to solicit purchasers for his personal agency,” based on Divorce Issues’ lawsuit, which was filed in a Centennial courtroom.
He additionally used paid go away from Divorce Issues to attempt his personal instances, tried to persuade a Divorce Issues legal professional to hitch Smith & Associates, and directed a Divorce Issues paralegal to prioritize a Smith & Associates case, the lawsuit alleges. He was fired March 19.
“I don’t actually wish to speak a lot about it,” Smith mentioned of the lawsuit quickly after it was filed.
“I’d like to inform you my facet of the story,” he defined by telephone April 2, earlier than including that he “most likely shouldn’t speak an excessive amount of about it till it’s resolved.”
Divorce Issues is represented by lawyer Leah Capritta with Holland & Knight in Denver.
This story was reported by our associate BusinessDen.