Lawyer has sex with client, then bills her

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EAGAN, Minn., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A Minnesota lawyer has been suspended indefinitely for billing a divorce client for time they spent having sex.

The state Supreme Court invoked the suspension against Thomas P. Lowe, 58, of Eagan, in a ruling last Thursday, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Tuesday. Lowe will have to wait at least 15 months before getting an opportunity to seek reinstatement.

The newspaper said Lowe had known the woman for many years. He became her attorney in her divorce case after she came to him in August 2011.

They soon began an affair that lasted for several months, during which Lowe, who was married, periodically billed her for legal services provided at the times they were having sex, the newspaper. Their liaisons were coded as meetings or drafting memos.

After their relationship became acrimonious, Lowe told her he was ended it and soon thereafter said he would no longer be her attorney.

At that point, the woman tried to kill herself and while in the hospital revealed the affair, the newspaper said.

The Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility subsequently filed a case against Lowe and court documents show he eventually admitted the allegations.

The newspaper said it was unable to reach Lowe for comment.