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request of his accountant James Binge, he did not have
a signed representation agreement with him. Following
that conversation an agreement was forwarded to the
Petitioner. After several weeks another call was
placed to the Petitioner who indicated that he was
having second thoughts about continuing the representa-
tion and was exploring “non-traditional” alternatives
with James Binge. At that time the undersigned ex-
plained that the opportunity to meet with an examiner
was rapidly evaporating and that formal discovery was
immanent [sic]. The undersigned further explained the
burden of complying with discovery and the possible
sanctions for failure to comply. The Petitioner was
urged to consult another tax practitioner and it was
suggested that reliance upon the recommendations of
James Binge may not be in his best interest. Following
that conversation the undersigned contacted the Peti-
tioner’s examiner and requested that his file be held
for a couple of weeks in case he changed his mind.
On July 16th [2001] the undersigned contacted
James Binge and was advised that the Petitioner did not
wish to continue the representation and that the under-
signed was not to attempt to contact him. The under-
signed was informed that replacement counsel in the
person of Marc Lehotsky * * * had been selected. The
undersigned contacted the Petitioner who verified that
he had made arrangements to have Mr. Lehotsky represent
him and that he was aware that a Branerton conference
had been set for the 17th [of July 2001] with District
Counsel’s office but that he did not wish to partici-
pate in such meeting unless he could be represented by
his accountant James Binge. The undersigned related
that he would not participate in the conference under
those conditions.
The undersigned copied the Petitioner’s file,
mailed same to Mr. Lehotsky, and prepared and mailed a
Notice of Substitution to the Tax Court indicating that
Mr. Lehotsky would be representing the Petitioners.
The undersigned also called Mr. Lehotsky and left a
detailed message regarding the status of the case and
inviting him to call the undersigned on his cell phone
should he desire to discuss the case. Thereafter the
undersigned closed his office and left town for a two
week vacation.
Upon returning it was discovered that the under-
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Last modified: May 25, 2011