In a Friday opinion (PDF), the state supreme court imposed the sanction, rejecting a public reprimand proposed by the court's attorney grievance commission.
The paralegal was a witness for the prosecution in the attorney discipline case, testifying that Kersenbrock didn't deposit a number of client retainers into her trust account when she worked for the attorney between 2005 and 2010. Instead, Kersenbrock put retainer checks into her law firm operating account and put cash retainers into a drawer or in books on her bookshelf, then spent them when she needed money, the paralegal testified.
Testifying on her own behalf, Kersenbrock said she wasn't required to deposit most of the retainers into her trust account, because they had already been earned when she put them into her operating account. She acknowledged some record-keeping issues, which she said she had taken steps to correct. She also said she had temporarily put one $3,000 cash retainer in her "sock drawer" for several weeks.
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Paralegal Blows Whistle on Ex-Boss, Says Cash Went in Book on Shelf; Lawyer Suspended for One Month
Yet another bad lawyer!
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