Sherman Oaks Man Gets 3-Week Jail Term : Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Theft of Fees

A Sherman Oaks lawyer has been sentenced to three weeks in County Jail and 24 months’ probation after pleading guilty to grand theft charges stemming from allegations that he instructed clients to make out checks to him instead of the law firm he worked for.

Police charged that Edward Kane, while employed for 16 months by the Tarzana office of Jacoby & Meyers, instructed at least four clients to make out checks totaling $2,367 to him instead of to the law firm. Kane then deposited the checks in his personal bank account, police said.

The violations, which took place three years ago, were discovered during a routine audit for Jacoby & Meyers, a high-volume discount chain of law offices. When Kane refused to return the money he was terminated, police said.

Assault Conviction

Court records show that Kane, 36, was convicted eight years ago of assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to one year in County Jail on the charge, according to court records.

Independent of his conviction Monday in Van Nuys Municipal Court, state Bar officials said that Kane in December, 1984, was suspended from practicing law for three years.

The suspension stemmed from a series of allegations of ethical misconduct, according to Gerald Markle, assistant chief trial counsel for the California State Bar. Kane was suspended because of complaints made against him by two clients in March, 1982.

Kane, who was admitted to the Bar five years ago after graduating from Valley University School of Law, was hired in March, 1981, by Jacoby & Meyers’ office in Tarzana. He handled mostly divorce cases, according to Steve Dragna, the firm’s regional director.

State Bar Investigating

Kane is under further investigation by the Bar, and faces the possibility of disbarment pending a review of the grand theft case, said city prosecutors.

Kane was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in 1976, after identifying himself as a police officer and firing two shots from a .22-caliber revolver at a 13-year-old Van Nuys youth in April, 1975, according to court documents. The youth was wounded in the right arm, police said.

Kane was sentenced to one year in County Jail and placed on 60 months’ formal probation. After his release, he attended law school, graduating in June, 1978.

In 1979, Kane told an officer of the court that his jail term “was a terrible experience for me that I fear very much having to go through again. I have done everything possible to demonstrate to the court that I am a good person.”

Conviction Was Expunged

Kane’s conviction was subsequently expunged from state criminal records, according to court documents. When Kane applied for employment with Jacoby & Meyers, Dragna said, he made no mention of his conviction.

After charges were filed against Kane stemming from the Jacoby & Meyers’ incident, police said, he fled to Canada. He was apprehended in California on an outstanding arrest warrant.