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The Indiana Supreme Court has suspended a South Bend attorney for repeatedly failing to represent a client.
Sean Hilgendorf of Hilgendorf Law Office is suspended from the practice of law for 180 days beginning on April 25.
Hilgendorf told The Indiana Lawyer he had no comment on the case.
In 2022, Hilgendorf began accepting appointments to represent a client in a felony case and in the appeals case for a contempt of court conviction. However, Hilgendorf failed to appear for a sentencing hearing, and his client was sentenced after choosing to proceed with the hearing without counsel, court records show.
Hilgendorf later accepted an appointment to represent the client on appeal in his felony case. He then failed to initiate an appeal in the contempt case.
In the months that followed, Hilgendorf either failed to respond to his client’s requests for information or the attorney sent communications to the wrong addresses, despite being updated when his client transferred between correctional facilities.
In September 2022, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed the client’s convictions in the felony case. Hilgendorf mailed a letter in early October 2022 advising his client of the adverse decision and his opinion that there was no basis to seek transfer, but Hilgendorf mailed the letter to the wrong correctional facility, so the client never received the letter.
Hilgendorf was disciplined for similar misconduct in 2011, in which he failed to keep a client reasonably informed, failed to explain a matter to allow a client to make informed decisions, and failed to refund an unearned fee upon termination of representation, according to the state disciplinary commission.
In the more recent case, the court found Hilgendorf violated a number of Indiana Professional Conduct Rules including failure to keep a client informed about the status of a matter and failing to comply promptly with a client’s reasonable requests for information.
The case is In the Matter of: Sean Hilgendorf, 24S-DI-145.
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