Augustus Shaw for Arizona
By HHR | January 12th, 2010 | Category: Featured | 2 commentsAbout Augustus Shaw
Augustus H. Shaw IV is a lifelong resident of Arizona and the founding attorney of Shaw & Lines, LLC, a local area Law Firm that employs 8 members of the Community. Augustus has been recognized as a leader in his practice area of Community Association Law. He was recognized by the Leadership Centre as their 2006 Lecturer of the Year. He has also been appointed to the prestigious College of Community Association Lawyers, an organization that recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves through contributions to the evolution or practice of community association law and who have committed themselves to high standards of professional and ethical conduct in the practice of community association law.
Augustus has published many articles and scholarly writings regarding Community Associations and their legal issues. He has written articles for the Arizona Republic and the East Valley/Scottsdale Tribune. Augustus is also a contributor and presenter of continuing legal education seminars on community association issues. Augustus is also a participant in the City of Casa Grande, City of Chandler, City of Gilbert and City of Mesa sponsored Homeowner Association Academies.
Augustus has served his Community at large through service as a member of the State Bar Committee of Minorities and Women in the Law (2002-2003), as Vice Chair, City of Tempe Redevelopment Review Commission (2003-2004), as Secretary, Maricopa County Bar Association Foundation (2002-2003), as a Member of the Maricopa County Board of Adjustment (2005-2006), as a Member of the Maricopa County Community Development Advisory Commission (2005-2006), as a Member of the Maricopa County Merit Commission (2006) as a Board Member of The Leadership Centre (2002- Present), as a Member of the City of Tempe Transportation Commission (2009 – Present), as a Delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention (2008) and as the 1st Vice Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party (2009 – Present).
Augustus is a graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law and licensed to practice law before the State Supreme Court of Arizona, the State Supreme Court of Nebraska, the Unites States District Courts of Arizona and Nebraska and the United States Tax Court.
Augustus was elected as 1st Vice Chairman of the Arizona Republican Party in January 2009.
Augustus is married to Andrada Shaw and has two wonderful children, Ezekiel Augustus Shaw, age 5 and Audrey Isabella Shaw, age 2.
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Augustus Shaw IV, a Republican candidate for state representative in Tempe’s District 17, has been disciplined twice by the State Bar and was scolded by a judge in 2006 for his aggressive tactics as an HOA lawyer.
The case, easily findable with a Google search for Shaw’s name, spurred a Maricopa Superior Court judge to write in a minute entry that Shaw’s actions were an example of “abusive litigation practices run amok.”
After the brutal, March 9, 2006, minute entry by Judge Peter Swann excorciating Shaw for trying to collect thousands of dollars he didn’t deserve, the Arizona Republic fired Shaw from a gig writing columns about homeowner-association issues.
The minute entry also spurred the Bar to punish Shaw with a year’s probation and mandatory ethics classes.
Shaw, who was recently endorsed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio (why doesn’t this surprise us?), admits begrudgingly that he’s become the blogosphere’s “poster boy for evil in the HOA industry.”
The title seems well deserved, if based on the 2006 case.
According to the minute entry and a May 24, 2006, Republic article about the case, Glendale resident and state worker Stacy Mobbs owed her HOA, the North Canyon Ranch Owners Association, about $343 in fees, plus another thousand for late fees and legal bills. When she wouldn’t pay up, Shaw — the HOA’s attorney — played hardball.
Shaw filed a lien against Mobbs’ home in Superior Court, stating that if she didn’t pay $1,479.68, the HOA would foreclose her property.
The 2006 Republic article by Michael Kiefer states that Mobbs brought a cashier’s check for the amount and obtained a receipt showing her balance had been paid in full. Shaw returned the check, telling Mobbs she owed more. A lot more.
Now Shaw demanded $6,000 in attorney fees alone, Swann’s minute entry states.
At about the same time, Shaw sent an e-mail to Mobbs threatening her with court action if she tried to contact the HOA board of directors without first going through him.
“I HAVE WARNED YOU TIME AND TIME AGAIN NOT TO CONTACT” the board, Shaw’s nasty-gram begins.
Mobbs filed a complaint against Shaw with the State Bar.
That prompted a “demand” by Shaw to drop the complaint, states Judge Swann’s minute entry.
Egregiously, the demand was accompanied by an offer to settle the case for just $2,000, which Swann noted was still “more than 400% of the amount actually owed.”
“The use of a threat of continued litigation in an attempt to dispense with possible disciplinary proceeding is highly inappropriate,” Swann wrote.
Maricopa Superior Court
Judge Peter Swann wrote in 2006 that when actions like what Shaw did in the Mobbs’ case take place, “the profession as a whole uffers…”
Swann didn’t fail to notice that Shaw had made the demand for the $6,000 even after being told there was no likelihood of attorney’s fees being paid in the case. (Mobbs was ultimately ordered by Swann to pay her bill and reasonable late fees).
Swann went on to call Shaw’s e-mail to Mobbs “abusive” and unprofessional.
“When a lawyer communicates in such fashion while representing a client in connection with a judicial proceeding, the profession as a whole suffers, and mounting public criticism of lawyers is more difficult to defend,” Swann wrote.
Shaw, 37, contends that he was a “young attorney” at the time — like this happened back in the 70s or something — and claims to have to learned from his mistake.
But he also says the Bar investigation and criticism of him that followed on the Internet was rooted in racism. His evidence? People who commented on blog posts about the incident targeted him with racial slurs.
”I’m not going on the record to call anyone racist,” Shaw says. “I’m going to say I personally felt the people around Miss Mobbs, people pushing this issue, were pushing it solely based on race. I felt if I was an attorney of another color, this issue would not have risen to where it did. When a black man asserts a dominant position, that’s seen as being threatening.”
As a conservative Republican, he goes on, he would normally be the last one to pull the race card.
“But in this unique situation, I believed it played a central role in the bar complaint and the fervor that it was prosecuted on,” he says.
We asked Shaw yesterday if the State Bar had punished him for anything else. Shaw answered that out of nine complaints filed against him with the Bar, he’d only been disciplined once.
But this morning, the State Bar told New Times that it placed an order of informal reprimand in his file in 2008 because of another problem.
Asked about that today, Shaw confesses that the 2008 discipline must have slipped his mind.
Uh-huh.
We encouraged Shaw to explain what happened, causing the candidate to come down with a classic case of “passing the buck.”
According to him, the Bar’s action was nothing but “BS.”
“I don’t even feel that thing’s valid,” he spews. “It wasn’t me who did it. I wasn’t the one who did the bad act.”
A junior associate at Shaw’s firm helping Shaw to collect a judgment award from someone they were suing accidently sent the person a bill that was 12 times higher than it should have been. Whoops.
The person (and the person’s attorney) caught the mistake, which was corrected, and later filed the Bar complaint. The junior associate resigned because of the incident, Shaw says.
Read the Bar’s reprimand letter by clicking here — we think you’ll agree it makes the incident sound worse than Shaw’s version).
So, to recap, Shaw:
*Used the legal process as a “weapon” (in Judge Swann’s words) to make money.
*Overcharges people.
*Writes nasty demand letters to the people he’s suing.
*Has convenient memory lapses.
*Throws blame around like a kid throwing sand at the park.
and let’s not forget
*Cries racism as a half-assed cover for problems he caused.
Except for the part about crying racism, he’s not too different from more than a few Phoenix-area lawyers.
But unlike most lawyers, Shaw has thrust himself into the political arena to take his lumps. And he knows none of this reflects well on him.
Referring to this article, Shaw says, with a touch of glee, “I’m happy this is coming out in June rather than in October.”
Shaw’s running against Ed Ableser, the incumbent Democrat, and several other challengers including another Republican.
Tags:
arizona, attorney, augustus shaw, candidate, complaint, discipline, district 17, hoa, homeowner association, lawyer, legislature, north canyon ranch, sheriff joe arpaio, state bar, tempe Comments (19) Write Comment Email to Friend
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More About:
Peter Swann
Stacy Mobbs
Maricopa Superior Court
Tempe (Arizona)
Racial Issues
Comments (19)
PhoenixVoiceOfReason says:
Sounds like a real winner.
Posted On: Thursday, Jun. 10 2010 @ 2:13PM
Roro says:
Voice of Reason: You mean a real wiener, don’t you?
Posted On: Thursday, Jun. 10 2010 @ 2:27PM
Zippy says:
Joe likes the bullies. They remind him of himself from the pre-Depends days
Posted On: Thursday, Jun. 10 2010 @ 2:28PM
Coconut Buster says:
How does a “brother” take an endorsement from a white man who says he’s proud of being compared to the KKK? Shaw is nothing more than coconut who climbs into bed with white boy racists.
Posted On: Thursday, Jun. 10 2010 @ 2:40PM
Tempe Resident says:
Let’s see:
Ableser- Educator, Mental Health counselor and 14 year resident.
Shaw- Scummy lawyer who attempted to rip off an employee of the state.
I’ll pick the educator over the lawyer any day.
Posted On: Thursday, Jun. 10 2010 @ 2:42PM
JD says:
I remember when Shaw tried to play the race card during his unsuccessful run for Tempe city council. I remember hearing him whine and cry in the media when he was not allowed to speak at a candidates forum after arriving late.
Posted On: Thursday, Jun. 10 2010 @ 5:51PM
Mahakala says:
The State Bar of Arizona’s Reprimand and Order in No. 08-0405 (Willis) puts Shaw at risk for future complaints re his abusive, unprofessional and highly inappropriate conduct as well as his abusive litigation practices.
The State Bar entered its Order in Shaw’s permanent record, a public record, which may be considered by future State Bar hearing officers, the Disciplinary Commission or the Arizona Supreme Court in any subsequent disciplinary proceedings against Shaw (with nine complaints to date, one would be ill-advised to bet lunch that Shaw will not be a Respondent again and again).
Homeowners who suffer abuse at the hands of unethical, unprofessional and incompetent persons who happen to have a JD or bar card should look to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Arizona, Rule 42 Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct, juxtapose the lawyer’s conduct with the Court’s rules of reason and, finding a nexus, file your bar complaint against any miscreant lawyer the same day.
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 1:06PM
IC_deLight says:
Shaw shares poster boy status with several of his fellow Community Associations Institute (CAI) HOA attorneys. Perhaps he can divert attention from his unscrupulous practices by pointing to one of his buddies – one of the high volume HOA foreclosure shakedown attorneys in the city of Houston and surrounding areas.
see “William George Gammon, Attorney Known For Representing Homeowner’s Associations, Arrested For Child Porn” source is found at
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/06/william_george_gammon_attorney.php
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 2:44PM
HaroldS says:
Yeah. The easy prey of subjugated HOA residents seems to attract these low life attorneys – it’s like shooting fish in a barrel for them. This guy’s name is brought up nationally whenever HOA attorneys are discussed. He must be so proud. PLEASE keep this information about him coming from now thru October.
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 3:50PM
yougot_it says:
Don’t worry, some people never forget. It is called Karma
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 5:34PM
Leonard G says:
I didnt think the state bar in az reprimanded anyone in az hmmmmmmmmm.
Good for them actually following thru.
Great article.
yep makes sense this would be the one Ar pie hole is in lock step with.(he wants to control the legislature)
Wonder who’s teaching the ethics class???any guess’s???
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 8:35PM
OMG says:
AARPaio would endorse Satan if Satan kissed his ass.
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 8:41PM
Kelly says:
The pot calling the kettle black.
“I’m not going on the record to call anyone racist.” Shaw, ‘Election 2010′
From: Augustus H. Shaw IV
Subject: RE: “I Wanna be a HOa Lawyer (‘Lookie here, Brother’), by Velet Jones Esq.”
To:
Cc: TSkiba@caionline.org, MFoley-Healy@caionline.org, FRathbun@caionline.org, “‘Mark Lines’”
Date: Monday, November 20, 2006, 4:48 PM
Thank you for sending me the below. I greatly appreciate it and hold no malice to you. The remainder of this message is not written to you, but you may feel free to post it.
In my humble opinion, this story only has “legs” at this point not for the substance of the story, but for the fact that I am an African American who dares to serve, with distinction, the HOA industry and my clients. This assertion can clearly be seen in the comments of “Velvet Jones” and his/her ethnic slur use of “Ebonics,” geared toward me, in his/her messages.
No one comments about the thousands of hours volunteered to the industry, or the countless dollars me and my firm have donated to the HOA industry. Additionally, no one has bothered to contact the State Bar regarding their amended order to insure that what someone states is fact.
People just throw around racial slurs and continue to make race an issue here. How sad. It truly shows me, to my delight and horror, that this has nothing to do with my abilities as an attorney or the content of my character, but has to do with the color of my skin. I guess Dr. King’s monument on the Capital Mall still hasn’t reached the good people who have commented below, especially Velvet Jones.
Have fun bashing me. I know now you are small minded people with an agenda. I’m reminded of a saying that I share with my young son, which is truly appropriate here, “I’m rubber and you are glue, your hateful words bounce off of me and stick to you.”
With Pride and Defiance ,
Augustus H. Shaw IV
Shaw & Lines, LLC
4523 E. Broadway Road, Suite 101
Phoenix, AZ 85040
Phone 480-456-1500
Fax 480-456-1515
e-mail ashaw@shawlines.com
web site http://www.shawlines.com
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 8:43PM
yougot_it says:
Kelly,
Thanks. When I got to the bottom of the email I thought I read
e-mail ashaw@lawless.com
Must be telling me something.
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 8:55PM
yougot_it says:
BTW,
If you are changing your residence aren’t you required to change your address with the Arizona Department of Transportation within 30 or is it 60 days?
This came from azcapitaltimes
Shaw said he often spends his weekends at the District 20 home where his wife and children still live, but stays at his in-laws’ house during the week. He said his driver’s license, bank records, car payments and other documentation all list the District 17 house as his address. He said his family will join him in District 17 in the fall.
“I am a resident (of District 17), and it shouldn’t matter where my family lives,” Shaw said. “This is a disgusting ploy by the Democratic Party to remove a candidate that they know can beat their candidates. And they want to do it by trying to drag my poor family and my poor autistic son into a political arena.”
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 10:18PM
yougot_it says:
So does this mean, all these years, that he never changed his address to his current house where his wife and child lives? Someone please check and verify this.
Thanks
Posted On: Friday, Jun. 11 2010 @ 10:25PM
Nancy says:
“And they (Democratic Party) want to do it by trying to drag my poor family and my poor autistic son into a political arena.” Shaw
Shaw, in addition to invoking the “race card,” regularly seeks the reader’s sympathy by dragging his poor family (wife, son and daughter) into his legal and political missteps.
From: “Augustus H. Shaw IV” ashaw@shawlines.com
Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 12:37 PM
To: azliz@qwest.net
Cc: malvarez@azleg.gov, hollerphx@qwest.net, hsmill46@cox.net, lesliephx@yahoo.com, pharuff@earthlink.net, rdebruhl@kpnx.com, Greg.Mocker@kpho.com, ‘ariel.worth@staff.azbar.org, starmangroup@cs.com, tellgreg@gmail.com, HARES462@aol.com, LINDABENT@aol.com
Subject: False and Misleading Statements
In the interest of mutual respect and friendship, I attach for you the Revised Order I have been speaking of. I have met all the conditions and as far as I am concerned, am not on probation. You may confirm this with the State Bar if you wish.
Now please, leave me alone. My wife is expecting our daughter in about a month and it has been an extremely difficult pregnancy. We may lose our baby.
Your continued harassment, which I cannot keep from my wife who reads your mean spirited words, upsets my wife which in turn makes her pregnancy that much more difficult.
If you have an ounce of compassion and decency, will you stop lambasting me for a few months or at least until our child is born healthy, so I can calm my wife during this difficult time. Thanks.
Augustus H. Shaw IV
Shaw & Lines, LLC
4523 E. Broadway Road
Phoenix , AZ 85040
Phone 480-456-1500
Fax 480-456-1515
e-mail ashaw@shawlines.com
web site http://www.shawlines.com
Posted On: Saturday, Jun. 12 2010 @ 7:18AM
Nancy says:
Race Card
“I am an African American who dares to serve, with distinction, the HOA industry and my clients…People just throw around racial slurs and continue to make race an issue here. How sad. It truly shows me, to my delight and horror, that this has nothing to do with my abilities as an attorney or the content of my character, but has to do with the color of my skin.”
Re: “I Wanna be a HOa Lawyer (‘Lookie here, Brother’), by Velet Jones Esq.”
—– Original Message —–
From: BLex
To: Nancy
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 9:04 PM
Subject: Shaw, “the pot calling the kettle black”
“With Pride and Defiance (Shaw),”…the pot calling the kettle black.
“Obama Goes Street: Seeking ‘ass to kick,’ ” Matt Drudge and Andrew Breitbart, The Drudge Report, June 7, 2010
“You can take the nigga out da ghetto but can’t take da ghetto out da nigga,” Magnolia Chop Birdman, ‘Out The Ghetto.’
Posted On: Saturday, Jun. 12 2010 @ 7:22AM
yougot_it says:
His Dad must be so proud.
Hey Augustus,
What happened to you website? I wanted to blog you