Thomas J. McLaughlin, the Harford County attorney accused of collecting more than $200,000 in fees for work he never performed, was disbarred yesterday in an order by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

McLaughlin specialized in estate planning for elderly clients who were living in or about to enter nursing homes.

He charged tens of thousands of dollars to prepare plans so that his clients could become eligible for Medicaid and keep their assets intact to spend on care or pass on to their heirs.

But two judges found in June that he had collected the fees and done no work in at least 15 cases.

In an unusual move, the court issued the order less than 24 hours after hearing arguments in the case, saying it would release a detailed opinion later.

Melvin Hirshman, bar counsel for the Maryland Attorney Grievance Commission, said he only knew of one prior case in which the court acted so quickly.

"This was just a horrible case," Hirshman said. "This is a case where it was definitely warranted."

McLaughlin said he was "stunned" by the decision. He said he could produce evidence to exonerate himself but wasn't given the chance.

"The record is just fraught with error. There's just all kinds of mistakes in there," he said, adding that he has paid some clients back and would be able to pay the rest if he were allowed to practice law.

McLaughlin's attorney, Lawrence P. Pinno, said that in January, his client's previous attorneys dropped his case, leaving McLaughlin, who has no litigation experience, to defend himself at his March 5 trial.

"If he had been represented at the March 5th hearing, you would have heard his side of the story, but he wasn't so you don't," Pinno said.

"He was just not in a position to defend himself."

Harford Circuit Judge Thomas E. Marshall issued an injunction in June to prevent McLaughlin from practicing law while the case was decided, the first application of a new law designed to streamline the disbarment process.

The law allows judges to stop lawyers from practicing when their conduct poses a threat of bodily harm or death, substantial harm to others' property or substantial harm to the administration of justice.

Hirshman said the appeals court justices were particularly interested in what happened to the money McLaughlin was paid. He had not put it in an escrow account as he was supposed to do, Hirshman said.

McLaughlin, who has been active in Aberdeen civil life for 20 years, has experienced a number of financial and legal troubles in the last decade.

He filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 1993 and has been sued several times for nonpayment

In 2000, his mother's nursing home sued him for nonpayment, accusing him of collecting her long-term-care insurance but not paying her bills. The case was settled out of court in favor of the nursing home for nearly $35,000.

McLaughlin said he could prove that he did not misuse his mother's funds and that he did all of the work he was paid to do.

"I can show you reams of work that were done," he said.

"People come in and look at my work and don't understand and say I must not have done anything."