by Sophia Lada
 |
| Garry Flanary, right, sits with his attorney Stephen LaCommare, left, in a hearing on Oct. 22, 2020. Kayla Daugherty |
Former Howell attorney Stephen LaCommare has been disbarred after the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board reviewed a misconduct case in which he previously had been suspended.
The nine-member panel, at the request of the grievance administrator, conducted a review June 15 of the attorney's two-year suspension. LaCommare did not file a response to the petition for review, nor did he show up to the review hearing. Seven of the board members supported increasing the penalty to disbarment, two recused themselves.
LaCommare did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The panel found that LaCommare failed to represent his clients in a timely manner, and failed to keep them informed about the status of their legal requests. He also failed to protect his clients' interests and did not refund advanced payment of legal fees.
The panel also found that he misappropriated funds from Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, using them for personal expenses. The two counts are the "most serious allegations," according to a document from the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board.
"Therefore, even when a lawyer has had a long and unblemished career, the lack of disciplinary record will not mitigate the sanction when the offense is very serious, such as, for example, conversion of client funds," the board wrote in its decision filed July 7.
The disbarment was retroactive to Nov. 16, 2021, the date LaCommare initially received a temporary suspension. LaCommare also did not show up for a hearing on the complaint on Nov. 1 that year.
In April this year, the panel extended LaCommare's suspension to two years, retroactive to Nov. 16, 2021. The panel said "that respondent committed professional misconduct, as charged in a six-count formal complaint, in his representation of four separate clients in their various legal matters; misused his IOLTA account; failed to timely answer one request for investigation and completely failed to answer two additional requests for investigation."
The panel also ordered him to pay $4,250 in restitution — $750 to one client and $3,500 to another — and an additional $2,262 in costs. He also was assessed $97 for the case review in June. The discipline board documents do not indicate whether he has paid any of the fees.
LaCommare was accused of scamming several Livingston County residents and businesses by taking their money and not providing legal services in 2018 and 2019.
Kizer Law Firm, where LaCommare worked, also fell victim to his fraudulent activity as LaCommare misappropriated funds from the firm.
LaCommare graduated from the Michigan State University-Detroit College of Law in 1995. He went on to work as an assistant prosecutor in the Livingston County Prosecutor's Office until 1999, when he moved to Boston to join a civil law firm.
He moved back to Michigan and started working for the Kizer Law Firm in 2002.
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