A third in a series by Robert E. Field
An article in the Intelligencer Journal New Era entitled “Pennsylvania Academy of Music’s legal bill is largest item on list of debts reports”:
“A $41,000 legal bill racked up by the Pennsylvania Academy of Music’s previous leadership helped push PAM into bankruptcy, court records show. PAM’s initial filings Thursday list the unpaid 2009 bill from McNees, Wallace & Nurick as the academy’s largest unsecured debt….PAM is disputing the bill… “
The Watchdog recalls sitting in the back yard of Fran and Mike Jamanis’ home on a lazy, late summer weekend discussing the situation with PAM when Jack Miller stopped by and they were introduced.
Miller was then with the law firm of McNees, Wallace & Nurick, and my impression was that he was a long time friend of Mike and Fran trying to help PAM, as were so many others. Although Miller may have been engaged to perform some specific chores for the Academy, I believe that Mike and Fran felt the same. Perhaps he indeed was volunteering his services…that day.
Over the next couple of weeks, Miller and I had a couple of conversations by telephone concerning the status of PAM, neither lasting more than twenty minutes. I continued to be under the impression that he was acting as a volunteer, although I cannot recall now what gave me that impression.
Then an invoice from the McNees firm arrived at PAM for over $40,000, and Mike, Fran and others were surprised.
The Watchdog cannot speak to the appropriateness of the invoice and what services it covered since he was not privy to it. Instead, the point is the importance of delineating when conversations are just among buddies and when the meter starts running.
It is incumbent upon the professional to make the status clear, preferably in writing. (It is not unusual for counsel to volunteer to do certain chores pro bono.) It is also important for the recipients of advice to inquire.
Full disclosure: The Watchdog’s master, “The Manor Group … a family of independent companies”, has a long and satisfactory history as clients of McNees, Wallace & Nurick.
