PENDER COUNTY — Another shift in Pender County staff took place Friday, as the interim county manager let go of a staff attorney.
READ MORE: Pender manager fired at commissioners meeting
Andre Hogan was hired six months ago by former county manager Michael Silverman, who the county commissioners voted to fire on April 22, due to inexperience. Silverman worked as city manager for Pascagoula, Mississippi, before moving to Pender County to take over from David Andrews last June. Silverman hired Hogan in December.
Acting county manager and finance director Meg Blue released Hogan from his duties on Friday, May 2. It’s not clear why, as the county didn’t respond to Port City Daily’s questions, though some personnel information is protected by state statute.
“I didn’t know about it until after the fact,” Commissioner Jerry Groves said Monday. “[I’m] very disappointed in the decision.”
PCD asked whether county staff and commissioners were aware of the North Carolina State Bar disciplinary action taken against Hogan in 2023 but did not hear back by press.
According to a consent order of discipline obtained by Port City Daily, Hogan, who began practicing law in the state in 2005, was suspended by the North Carolina State Bar for one year in March 2023. The bar found Hogan failed to properly manage attorney and client fund balances by not providing required monthly and quarterly reconciliations.
Hogan was a partner at Hogan Edwards and Blue in Fayetteville from 2016 until March 2024 and then self-employed with A.N. Hogan Law PLLC from January until December 2024, when the county hired him.
The discipline order notes Hogan “maintained one trust account in connection with his law practice” with Wells Fargo Bank and held entrusted funds on behalf of clients in the account. Yet, on various occasions between September 2018 and April 2022, Hogan was found:
- Spending more client money than what was actually in accounts for some clients
- Failing to retain and perform monthly and quarterly reconciliations of his attorney trust account
- Not keeping clients informed on the status of the money he was holding for them
- Using client entrusted property for the benefit of himself or a third party
- Not depositing client money properly
- Not clearly writing which client’s money was being used on checks and transfer slips
Attorneys in North Carolina are required to keep complete and accurate financial records of client funds received and regularly compare those records with official bank statements for trust accounts to ensure balances match.
The North Carolina State Bar began its investigation into Hogan in 2020. In 2022, the State Bar asked Hogan to reconcile the discrepancies by providing monthly and quarterly reports for his trust accounts in 2021. But he did not respond, the bar alleges.
Failure to respond ultimately resulted in a disciplinary hearing and the issuance of the disciplinary order. The hearing panel of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission found Hogan had no record of prior professional discipline. Thus, his suspension was stayed for two years upon compliance with specific conditions related to the management of client trust accounts and adherence to professional conduct rules.
To comply with the State Bar’s order, Hogan was required to:
- Ensure all bank transactions were accurately recorded in his ledgers
- Perform monthly and quarterly reconciliations of all trust accounts
- Engage a trust account monitor at his own expense for quarterly audits and reports to the State Bar.
- Provide any trust account records or information requested by the State Bar.
- Submit monthly affidavits if he stopped handling client funds.
- Complete two hours of continued legal education on trust account management within six months of discipline order.
- Keep his contact information updated with the State Bar.
- Promptly respond to State Bar communications.
- Comply with all State Bar continued legal education requirements and pay associated fees.
- Pay all membership dues, fees, and costs.
- Not violate State Bar rules of professional conduct or any other laws
The hearing panel concluded Hogan’s actions led to a “negative impact” on public and client perception of the profession and “put entrusted client funds at risk and, therefore, had the potential to cause significant harm.” However, the panel found Hogan “accepted responsibility and expressed sincere remorse for his conduct.”
Since Hogan’s status as an attorney was stayed for two years, his license was not under active suspension when he was hired by Pender County. He was legally allowed to practice, but was subject to the ongoing conditions of the stayed suspension. It is unclear whether former county manager Silverman knew of Hogan’s disciplinary record before he was hired.
During an April 22 meeting, commissioners unanimously approved a moratorium to freeze spending and hiring for new county jobs. The moratorium would not allow the county to hire a new staff attorney until the hiring freeze ends or unless the role is deemed a critical need by the county manager. Commissioner Jimmy Tate initiated the motion, arguing the amount of county positions have risen, but salaries have not. The moratorium would not affect current vacant positions that have already been approved and budgeted for.
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