Maine bar suspends attorney who oversaw trust funds for clients in guardianships
Portland, Maine — Attorney Elizabeth LaPierre, who spent years handling trust and estate matters from a Falmouth law office and now serves as a senior staff attorney with Maine Equal Justice, finds herself suspended from practicing law in the state following allegations that she mishandled clients’ trust and estate funds — money intended to cover assisted‑living costs for vulnerable adults under guardianship.
The suspension stems from a chain of grievance complaints filed before Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy signed an immediate interim order on August 24. According to the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, LaPierre’s conduct reveals a pattern of severe negligence in managing funds belonging to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
Complaints were lodged by two former clients and a colleague, triggering Murphy’s action after at least three separate grievances were submitted. In one case, a brother serving as guardian for his sister risked losing his legal status because LaPierre missed deadlines for filing required guardian reports with probate court. In another, a woman whose deceased relative’s estate was to pass to her children feared the property would be foreclosed because LaPierre failed to probate the estate; she had been named personal representative.
Those difficulties with communication began to mount around 2025, a former colleague told the Board. The colleague, who parted ways with LaPierre earlier this year and later filed a mandated report, said LaPierre insisted on taking more than a dozen court‑appointed clients with her and retained their personal belongings, including family heirlooms. By May 2026, when a man filing as guardian for his sister filed the first formal grievance, LaPierre had not responded to multiple requests about the sister’s expenses or the trust holding her funds. The Board identified at least seven additional instances in which clients and their new attorneys could not reach her; in one case, a service provider unable to collect outstanding payments called police, who in turn contacted Adult Protective Services.
LaPierre did not respond to the multiple calls, voicemails, and letters the Board sent regarding those complaints. The petition filed by Board attorneys Lisa Chase and Suzanne Thompson argues that she demonstrated a pattern of misconduct, including severe negligence in handling vulnerable clients’ funds and potentially misuse of trust and estate assets.
The road to this suspension was not linear. From May 25 through July 29, LaPierre was under administrative suspension for failing to complete mandatory continuing legal education requirements, information that was publicly posted on the Bar’s website. Her current employer, Maine Equal Justice, was reportedly unaware she was not authorized to practice. After Bar staff reached out to the nonprofit’s executive director, LaPierre called on July 28 promising to respond to the grievances. Nearly a month later, the Board said it had still not received that response. LaPierre ultimately completed her education requirements and was reinstated on July 29.
Just days later, Justice Murphy acted again, signing an immediate interim suspension order on August 24. In a separate order, Murphy appointed two attorneys — Kylie Germann and Jessica Braun — as receivers to protect LaPierre’s former clients. The receivers have access to her professional files, clients’ trust information, and business‑related software and devices, though files connected to her current work at Maine Equal Justice are excluded. Their mandate includes helping clients secure new legal representation and notifying those who still have personal items stored with LaPierre that they may retrieve them.
Aria Eee, executive director of the Board of Overseers of the Bar, declined to comment because the matter remains under investigation. She encouraged anyone with concerns about an attorney’s conduct to use the Board’s grievance complaint process and directed those worried about possible attorney theft to information about the Lawyer’s Fund for Client Protection.
The case underscores the serious consequences when court‑appointed attorneys fail to meet fiduciary duties, particularly where elderly or disabled clients depend on those funds for basic care. The Board emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and that the interim suspensions and receiver appointments are meant to safeguard clients’ interests while the matter is resolved.
