Lawyers Defend Fees in ‘Theft by Receiving’ Case

Fascinating questions of legal ethics stem from the prosecution of two lawyers accused of stealing cash and property from a murder victim's estate by accepting $75,000 from their client, the victim's wife, who pleaded guilty to planning the killing. But arguments at a Georgia appeals court last week centered more on the statute of limitations than on the source of the lawyers' fees and their obligations related to their client's guilt.