Calvo, Fisher & Jacob v. Lujan CA1/2

BACKGROUND

The Setting: The Parties, the Participants, and the Proceedings Appellant David Lujan is an attorney in Guam, the senior partner in the firm of Lujan, Aguigui & Perez LLP. Lujan is very experienced, having done “hundreds of trials,” and is apparently well regarded, having represented many high profile people, including governors, lieutenant governors, and other politicians, in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. But it was his representation of a minor named Junior Larry Hillbroom (Junior) that would lead to the appeal before us here. In 1995, Lujan took on the representation of Junior, seeking to prove that Junior was an heir of Larry Hillblom (Hillblom), one of the founders of DHL Worldwide Express, who disappeared while piloting an airplane near Saipan. Lujan’s efforts on behalf of Junior were successful, with Junior ultimately receiving some $90 million from Hillblom’s estate. Lujan received a contingency fee, apparently of 38 percent. The settlement with the estate closed in April 2000, but Lujan’s involvement with Junior continued. As Lujan described it at trial, “You know, just because the probate closed did not mean it’s completely over,…