Local News in Brief : Sherman Oaks Lawyer Is Ordered Disbarred

A Sherman Oaks lawyer has been ordered disbarred by the California State Bar Court on charges that he failed to perform legal work and took clients’ fees without the approval of his employer, bar officials said Friday.

Edward Kane, 37, formerly of North Hollywood, was formally disbarred by the state Supreme Court on Aug. 22 for nine separate acts of unprofessional conduct between 1981 and 1982, said Jim Evans, spokesman for the state bar.

Kane was an attorney with the law firm of Jacoby & Meyers when the alleged misconduct occurred, Evans said.

Kane allegedly violated his contractual agreement with the firm by receiving about $900 in fees from clients, a state bar spokesman said. Kane’s employment agreement required full-time and exclusive employment and prohibited him from accepting money from clients on his own behalf.

On several instances, Kane also failed to perform legal work, causing clients to lose their court cases, Evans said.

The night before he was to be terminated from the firm in June, 1982, Kane illegally entered the law office where he formerly worked and took his paycheck, files, ledgers and other materials pertaining to clients, Evans said, and refused to return the materials.

Kane was admitted to the bar in 1980 and was hired by Jacoby & Meyers in March, 1981. He briefly worked as managing attorney in the firm’s Tarzana office. When it closed in March, 1982, he was assigned as a staff attorney in the Van Nuys office.

Kane could not be reached for comment.