One renowned, now-suspended lawyer in Charleston has had a rough year, and newly unearthed evidence exposes past concerns about his capacity to serve clients.
Adrian Lewis filed a lawsuit against former attorney and South Carolina Representative Marvin Pendarvis earlier this year, exposing issues with him.
Lewis said the former congressman falsified his signature on a settlement agreement and offered $10,000 in exchange for silence, which his new attorney believes was a bribe.
Pendarvis sent dozens of confidential client files to a couple in Bamberg County, whom he had previously represented in a class-action lawsuit, according to WRDW-TV’s I-team, a week after Lewis filed his misconduct claim.
A month later, the South Carolina Supreme Court suspended Pendarvis and gave a specific direction to transmit everything to a designated receiver.
The couple received more than 50 files from the Ninth Circuit Public Defender’s Office, including Shanara Mack’s case.
“It’s fortunate that it was only a couple involved; it could have been any individual.” Could someone else examine our files and understand the situation? Mack said. “You have chosen to pursue a career as a lawyer.” You went to school for this purpose.
Pendarvis became her attorney when she faced her first criminal accusation, and the office selected him to represent her as part of his backlog contract.
The arrangement included a $30,000 yearly compensation handed out monthly in exchange for committing to represent up to 100 clients for the office.
Pendarvis had signed a similar arrangement the previous year, but the remuneration was unclear.
Here is the timeline of events:
- April 11, 2024 Client Files lawsuit against Marvin Pendarvis
- One week later, files sent to Bamberg
- May 17, 2024: SC Bar temporarily suspends Pendarvis’ law license, appoints receiver
- Sept. 16, 2024 Pendarvis informs House Speaker of his resignation
Mack’s charges have negatively impacted her career, mental health, and financial stability. She has completed a pretrial intervention program and is attempting to get the case erased.
However, she asserts that the recent revelation of her file’s sharing with strangers has robbed her of her peace of mind.
“People trust you to execute your job well. You failed to meet their expectations.
“That appears to be problematic,” remarked Rob Wilcox.
Wilcox formerly served as the dean of the University of South Carolina’s Joseph F. Rice Law School.
“A client’s file is going to contain a lot of information about the client,” according to him. “It’s a pretty straightforward rule that what you learn about a client in the course of representation cannot go to other people outside of the law firm.”
As a former professor, Wilcox taught professional responsibility and believes that lawyers owe three things to their clients: loyalty, fiduciary duty, and secrecy.
Pendarvis, when reached by phone, stated that the data were sent by accident.
“I boxed up the files, but whatever was sent inadvertently,” Pendarvis said, adding that the contents were not “anything of note.”
“Sending that, even inadvertently, to anyone outside of the representation is likely to be a violation of the rules,” says Wilcox.
Wilcox asserts that an attorney can maintain the confidentiality of any communications made during a case.
According to records uncovered by Live 5 Investigates, the backlog contract with Pendarvis expired unexpectedly in September 2022, nine months before its scheduled expiration date.
After not receiving a response via email or phone, Circuit Defender Cameron Blazer issued a letter to Pendarvis, expressing his concerns about his work on another case.
“I had hoped to get your side of the story, but I think your schedule was too full,” Blazer replied in reply. “I am concerned that this contract may not be in our mutual best interest.”
Blazer claims in their statement that they received complaints from a client, which included “verifiable” issues like missing a preliminary hearing and the prolonged delay in submitting notices and appearing before the clerk. Others “while serious in nature” were observed to be “he said/he said.”
On September 14, the day after sending the letter, Pendarvis and Blazer agreed to dissolve the contract over the phone.
Among the five attorneys hired for this work, he is the only one whose contract expired early. When asked about this, Pendarvis stated that he had little recollection of the agreement’s termination.
“I don’t really have any comment,” stated the politician. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
The complexity of the investigation means any penalties will take time to become public, according to Wilcox.
“We must be convinced that self-regulation is effective and that we are managing the process correctly. Wilcox added, “They are confident that we will handle it if something horrible happens.”
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s investigation into Pendarvis continues.
Last month, he informed the House Speaker of his departure from the South Carolina House of Representatives, but he remains on the ballot and has not formally resigned from his uncontested run. As a result, there are no present preparations to locate his replacement in District 113.
