The public defender’s office severed ties with the disbarred attorney due to a client’s complaint

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – It’s been a tumultuous year for one prominent, now disbarred attorney in Charleston, and newly unearthed documents show there were earlier concerns about his ability to serve clients.

Trouble with former attorney, former South Carolina Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, first became public earlier this year when Adrian Lewis sued him.

Lewis claimed that the former deputy forged his signature for a settlement and offered cash in exchange for silence, which his new representation considers a bribe.

A week after Lewis filed the misconduct claim, WRDW-TV’s I-Team said Pendarvis sent dozens of confidential client files to a couple in Bamberg County whom he also represented in a previous class action.

A month later, the South Carolina Supreme Court suspended Pendarvis and a specific directive to send everything to the intended recipient.

The boxes sent to the couple contained more than 50 files from the Ninth Circuit Public Defender’s Office, including Shanara Mack’s case.

“It’s a good thing it was a couple because it could have been anyone else. Anyone else who can look at our files and see what’s going on,” Mack said. “You register with lawyers. This is what you went to school for. You have to do your job right.”

Pendarvis became her attorney when she faced her first criminal charge, and the office appointed Pendarvis to represent her as part of his outstanding contract.

The deal called for an annual salary of $30,000 to be paid monthly in exchange for agreeing to represent up to 100 clients for the office.

Pendarvis signed a similar contract last year, although it is unclear what the compensation was.

Here is the timeline of events:

April 11, 2024 Client files suit against Marvin Pendarvis
A week later, the files were sent to Bamberg
May 17, 2024: SC Bar temporarily suspends Pendarvis’ law license and appoints receiver
On September 16, 2024, Pendarvis informed the Speaker of the House of his resignation

For Mac, her wards cost her her job, her mental health, and her financial security. She went through a pretrial intervention program and is working to get the case dismissed.

But she says the latest revelation that her file has been shared with strangers is unnerving.

“You know, people trust you, you’ll do your job properly. And you didn’t do it. Like, you actually let us down at this point,” she said.

“On the face of it, it would be problematic,” said Rob Wilcox.

Wilcox is the former dean of the Joseph F. Rice School of Law at the University of South Carolina.

“A customer file will contain a lot of information about the customer,” he said. “It’s a pretty simple rule: What you learn about a client while representing them cannot be shared with people outside the law firm.”

As a former professor, Wilcox taught about professional responsibility and says a lawyer owes his clients three things: loyalty, fiduciary duties and confidentiality.

Pendarvis, when reached by phone, said the files were sent in error.

“I packed the files in the box, but what was sent was unintentional,” Pendarvis said, saying the files inside were “nothing important.”

“Sending it, even inadvertently, to anyone outside of the dealership would likely be a violation of the rules,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox says anything disclosed to an attorney during a case can be considered confidential.

According to documents obtained by Live 5 Investigates, Pendarvis’ contract, which was due to expire in September 2022, suddenly ended nine months into the year.

District Attorney Cameron Blazer wrote a letter to Pendarvis expressing concern about his work on another case, but did not receive an email or phone response.

“I was hoping to understand your perspective, but I understand your schedule has been too busy,” Blazer wrote. “I am concerned that this contract may not be in our mutual interests.”

In the memo, Blazer says they received complaints from the client, including verifiable complaints such as missing a preliminary hearing and long delays in filing notices and clerk appearances. Others “though serious in nature” were noted as “he said/he said”.

The day after the September 14 letter was sent, Pendarvis and Blazer agreed by phone to terminate the contract.

He is the only lawyer out of the five hired to do the job whose contract ended early. When asked about it, Pendarvis said he doesn’t remember much about the end of the deal.

“I don’t really have a comment,” he said. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

Wilcox believes that if there are any consequences, it will be some time before they are made public because of the complexity of the ongoing investigation.

“We have to be very confident that self-regulation is working, that we are actually managing the process and doing it right. So people have confidence that if something bad happens, it will be taken care of,” Wilcox said.

Investigation by the South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement in Pendarvis continues.

last month, he announced his resignation from the South Carolina House of Representatives to the Speaker of the House but remains on the ballot and has not officially withdrawn from his uncontested race. Because of this, there are currently no plans to find a replacement for him in District 113.