The lawyer for an Edmonton eye doctor allegedly targeted in a murder-for-hire plot says her client remains fearful that the man accused of plotting his death will soon be free.

Joseph King was slated to return to perform regularly scheduled eye surgeries this week at his Jasper Avenue clinic, but his lawyer Anne Bremner said he will still be looking over his shoulder after his business partner and former brother-in-law allegedly tried to hire Russian mobsters to kill him.

"He's coping, but he's terrified for his family and himself," the high-profile Washington state lawyer said yesterday.

"He may have to consider hiring private security. He may have to go into hiding."

King's concerns come from a decision in a Washington court Wednesday that saw a judge drop the bail for Michael Mockovak to $2 million, a price tag Bremner and prosecutors argued could be easily covered by the businessman who was a co-founder of the Clearly Lasik eye clinics with King.

Federal prosecutors had tried to hike the bail to $5 million, while Bremner had asked the judge to boost the exit fee to $15 million to keep him behind bars until the trial.

However, Mokovak's lawyer Colette Tvedt argued her client didn't have the financial means to cover the bail.

She didn't return a call from Sun Media yesterday.

"(Mockovak) is very well travelled and the incentive to flee is huge," Bremner said.

She said it's still possible to have the amount of bail reconsidered by the judge if prosecutors can prove he has the financial means and ability to flee from the charges if he is released.

Investigators removed a number of items from Mockovak's house, including financial records.

Court documents suggest Mockovak was in financial difficulty due to ongoing lawsuits and King's plans to leave the company, but he still managed to allegedly agree to spend $25,000 to hire hitmen to murder King while he was on vacation in Australia.