Madison County lawyer permanently disbarred after 13 complaints, previous violations

by Sarah Best 

Madison County lawyer Angela Joy Hopson, 45, was disbarred permanently on Friday on 13 separate complaints concerning several professional conduct violations.

Hopson was ordered to pay $35,234 to eight individuals in restitution, according to a report from the Supreme Court of Tennessee's Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR).

Per the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC), Hopson was found guilty of multiple of the following offenses:

• failing to prosecute cases diligently
• failing to refund unearned fees
• failing to appear
• failing to communicate with clients
• misappropriating client money
• misleading clients and failing to notify clients of their case status
• charging an unreasonable fee
• engaging in unauthorized practice of law while suspended
• failing to respond to the Board [of Professional Responsibility]

Licensed in the state to practice law since 2003, Hopson has had a checkered past with RPC violations, resulting in public censures and suspensions from practicing law in 2014, 2018 and 2021 ranging from 30 days to one year.

Hopson routinely disregarded complaints of ethical violations brought before her by the Board. Of the 13 complaints, Hopson was ultimately disbarred permanently for, she failed to respond to 12, according to an Oct. 2 report from the BPR.

By Order of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, Hopson was issued a temporary suspension on July 28, 2021 for failing to respond to an unrelated complaint. Per her disbarring, the Board dissolved the prior temporary suspension.

With a BOPR status code of "Disbarred Permanently," Hopson's status as a lawyer is terminated, and she will not have the opportunity to be reinstated after five years like a "Disbarred" coded lawyer would.

She has ninety days to pay the restitution and must comply with the responsibilities of a disbarred attorney under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 2.

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Madison County lawyer permanently disbarred after 13 complaints, previous violations

Rockingham lawyer disbarred for embezzlement

by Matthew Sasser Editor

ROCKINGHAM — Rockingham lawyer J. Brent Garner has been disbarred from the North Carolina State Bar.

According to a June disciplinary hearing commission, Garner, who was admitted to the NC State Bar in 2003, misappropriated entrusted funds, made misrepresentations to the Grievance Committee, improperly disbursed entrusted funds, did not properly maintain entrusted funds, did not conduct required trust account reconciliations and reviews, and did not maintain other required trust account records.

According to the order of discipline, Garner embezzled $5,900 from ten separate clients with amounts as high as $2,000. The minimum amount was for $100.

“Garner knowingly disbursed to himself or caused to be disbursed to himself the funds…” states the document.

Additionally, Garner issued a check to himself from a client’s estate for $6,763.52 in December of 2018. A week later, there was a deficit of at least $8,000 from the client’s funds. Three checks for resolved court costs and fines in traffic cases, each for $263, were issued to the Anson County Clerk of Court from some of the embezzled funds. There was insufficient funds for these checks.

In the course of the grievance investigation, Garner responded in a March 29, 2019, letter that he “was intending to place an asset into the estate account that [he] believed was not there yet” and that he “did not pay attention to the deposit slip [he] was using.”

This statement was found to be contradictory to the information written on the checks from the account. Upon examination, the state bar found that Garner had misused other entrusted funds, improperly deposited funds and failed to conduct required reviews and trust account records.

“By knowingly disbursing to himself or causing to be disbursed to himself funds to which he was not entitled from [the ten client accounts] Garner committed criminal acts (embezzlement) that reflect adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness in other respects in violation of Rule 8 .4(b) and engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation that reflects adversely 011 the lawyer’s fitness as a lawyer,” states the disciplinary hearing commission. “By knowingly attempting to disburse $6,763.52 from the Estate Account…For no purpose beneficial to the Estate and where it would have been used for the benefit of Garner and/or Garner’s clients, Garner committed criminal acts (attempted embezzlement) that reflect adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness.”

From court documents, the “Findings of Fact Regarding Discipline” listed that Garner was deceptive in his responses to inquiries from the grievance committee.

“Garner refused to acknowledge the wrongful and intentional nature of his misconduct,” states the committee, adding that Garner introduced letters from 10 members of the legal community, including three district court judges, one superior court judge and the Richmond County Sheriff, who all spoke highly of his good character and reputation.

A hearing committee determined that “a censure, reprimand, admonition, or suspension would be insufficient discipline because of the gravity of the significant harm and the potential significant harm caused by Defendant’s conduct to the profession and the public.”

Garner is prohibited from handling entrusted funds and was disbarred effective July 7, 2023. Garner must pay all administrative fees and costs from the proceedings. The order of discipline was signed by Shannon R. Joseph, chair of the disciplinary hearing panel.

A phone call to the Law Offices of J. Brent Garner indicated that the number had been disconnected.

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Rockingham lawyer disbarred for embezzlement

Mount Vernon lawyer disbarred for misappropriating client funds

By Bill Heltzel 

A Mount Vernon lawyer has been disbarred for misappropriating client funds and has admitted that even more money might be missing.

Alvin James Thomas submitted an application to the state Second Appellate Division on Oct, 17 to resign as an attorney, acknowledging that he is the subject of two investigations by the local lawyers’ grievance committee.

The investigations concern “willful misappropriation” of $50,000 from Afsana Chowdhury and $188,000 from Oluwaleke Osinubi, according to the appellate court’s opinion.

Thomas admitted that he had failed to maintain bookkeeping records for his escrow account, the opinion states, “and that there may be more client funds misappropriated or misapplied because he has not done a complete accounting of his escrow account.”

Thomas also declared that he cannot successfully defend himself against allegations of professional misconduct.

Thomas was admitted to the practice of law in 2001, and for the past dozen years he has filed nearly three dozen bankruptcy cases.

One of his purported clients, LaVerne B. Reece of Yonkers, accused him last year of falsely filing two bankruptcy cases on her behalf in 2017 and 2018.

“At no time did I authorized him to do so,” Reece stated in a complaint filed last year in U.S. District Court, Manhattan, “and have not met with him in over a decade.”

Reece said she hired Thomas in 2000 to manage a rental property. Then in 2021 she discovered that the mortgage had not been paid for 19 months.

She claimed that Thomas had taken out additional mortgages on the property, without her knowledge, and collected tenant rents but did not pay the mortgages.

Reece said “fraudulent bankruptcy entries” have ruined her credit.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint citing lack of jurisdiction and recommended that Reece seek assistance from a legal clinic.

In the current disciplinary action, a panel of five appellate court justices granted Thomas’ resignation on Dec. 21, and disbarred him.

They ordered him to pay restitution to Osinubi, the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection,” and to “any other individuals who filed or may file claims against him.”

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Mount Vernon lawyer disbarred for misappropriating client funds

North KC lawyer disbarred after accusing judges of lying, committing crimes

 By Sarah Motter

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - A North Kansas City lawyer has been disbarred after he accused federal judges of lying and committing crimes.

The Kansas Supreme Court says that in Case No. 124,956: In the Matter of Jack R.T. Jordan, it ordered Jordan’s disbarment. Jordan had been a North Kansas City, Mo., attorney admitted to practice in the state of Kansas since 2019.

The Court said it agreed with a recommendation from the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys panel and the Disciplinary Administrator’s Office that Jordan should be disbarred for misconduct. The incident came during federal court proceedings that had been initiated to get a “Powers email” document under the federal Freedom of Information act. 

The Court noted that it found Jordan had engaged in serious misconduct which included making frivolous claims, disobeying obligations under tribunal rules, making false or reckless statements about the qualifications or integrity of judges, and committing conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice and conduct adversely reflecting on his fitness to practice law.

According to the Court, Jordan denied the allegations and argued discipline could not be imposed due to his First Amendment-protected statements. He also claimed the assertions have not been proven false.

In a unanimous decision, the Court said it set out the panel’s detailed factual findings and conclusions and Jordan’s challenges to them. The Court found clear and convincing evidence that established his multiple violations of the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct and held that disbarment is appropriate.

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North KC lawyer disbarred after accusing judges of lying, committing crimes

Lawyer disbarred after email faking death to Calif. attorney regulators

By Chinekwu Osakwe

(Reuters) - An attorney in California has been disbarred after state bar officials pursuing ethics charges against him received an email falsely stating that he had died.

Donald Martin Stone of Winnetka, whose Oct. 1 disbarment was disclosed by the State Bar of California on Thursday, initially faced disciplinary action for failing to disclose that he had been convicted of stealing from a Sears department store in 1995.

Stone could not be reached for comment on Thursday.

When approached by the state bar about his alleged failure to disclose his conviction, Stone said in a May 2020 letter that the matter had been vacated and dismissed, records in the disciplinary case show. He also said he was retired from practicing law and requested the disciplinary case be dismissed.

The bar moved forward with a hearing against Stone in July 2021, but he failed to appear. In September 2021, the bar received an email from an address that Stone had used to communicate with officials about the case indicating that he had died "months ago."

Bar officials sent investigators to confirm that Stone had died, but instead found him living at a new address, according to a filing in the case.

The bar submitted a petition for disbarment in November 2021, which the California Supreme Court approved last month.

The case is In the Matter of Donald Martin Stone, No. SBC-20-C-30304, State Bar Court of California.

For California: Lori Flowers

For Stone: Pro Se

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Lawyer disbarred after email faking death to Calif. attorney regulators

D.C. lawyer disbarred in Md. for continuing to practice law while suspended

By: Madeleine O'Neill

 

“Ms. Ekekwe persistently violated the two suspension orders,” Judge Steven B. Gould wrote in a 21-page opinion. “In doing so, Ms. Ekekwe effectively deprived (her client)—who was battling for custody of her son—the benefit of counsel.” (The Daily Record/File Photo)

Maryland’s Court of Appeals this month disbarred a D.C. lawyer who continued representing a client in a custody case after she had been suspended from practicing law in Maryland.

The high court agreed unanimously that Olekanma A. Ekekwe had “undeniably injured” her client and misrepresented her status as an attorney to both the client and a judge.

“Ms. Ekekwe persistently violated the two suspension orders,” Judge Steven B. Gould wrote in a 21-page opinion. “In doing so, Ms. Ekekwe effectively deprived (her client) — who was battling for custody of her son — the benefit of counsel.”

The court found that disbarment was appropriate because Ekekwe’s misconduct included intentional dishonesty and the unauthorized practice of law. Ekekwe has also been disbarred in D.C., records show.

Ekekwe could not be reached for comment. A phone number listed online for her D.C. law practice is no longer active.

Ekekwe had been a lawyer in D.C. since 2002 and in Maryland since 2010, according to the court’s opinion. In June 2019, she was suspended for three years in D.C. after the District of Columbia Court of Appeals found she had violated rules related to competence, diligence, communication, safekeeping property and declining or terminating representation.

In October of that year, Ekekwe’s law license was suspended in Maryland on a petition from the Attorney Grievance Commission that was based on the misconduct finding in D.C.

Even after her law license had been temporarily suspended, Ekekwe continued to represent a pro bono client she’d been assigned through the Women’s Law Center of Maryland, according to the opinion. Although Ekekwe had not entered an appearance in the client’s case, she represented the woman at an emergency hearing in November 2019 and did not inform her client, the judge or opposing counsel that she had been suspended, Gould wrote in the opinion.

In January 2020, Ekekwe again appeared in court in connection with the custody dispute. Under questioning from a judge, Ekekwe said she was “assisting” in the case and making just a “temporary appearance.” The judge postponed the hearing and referred the case to bar counsel, according to the opinion.

Ekekwe repeatedly failed to respond to letters from bar counsel before claiming that her suspension had not yet been active at the time of the November 2019 emergency hearing and that she had appeared at the January 2020 hearing as a paralegal, rather than a lawyer.

“Ms. Ekekwe’s paralegal theory strains credulity,” Gould wrote. “The Women’s Law Center appointed an attorney, not a paralegal, to represent (the client). Upon their suspension from practicing law, lawyers do not magically transform into paralegals imbued with the authority to represent clients.”

A hearing judge found no mitigating factors in Ekekwe’s favor. Ekekwe failed to appear at a June 2021 evidentiary hearing about her alleged misconduct.

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals also disbarred Ekekwe in January. The Court found that Ekekwe, who is referred to in the opinion as Ekekwe-Kauffman, had recklessly misappropriated funds belonging to four clients, among other violations.

“Ekekwe-Kauffman’s handling of entrusted funds evinces practically all of the hallmarks of reckless misappropriation,” the D.C. high court found.  “She commingled funds between her trust and operating accounts repeatedly and indiscriminately. She likewise moved money among her personal, business, and trust accounts, haphazardly covering shortfalls in each account by drawing on the balance of the others.”

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D.C. lawyer disbarred in Md. for continuing to practice law while suspended

Bankruptcy lawyer disbarred after sanctions in 30 cases

By Mike Scarcella

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

(Reuters) - A bankruptcy lawyer who had been sanctioned in courts at least 30 times has agreed to disbarment in Washington, D.C., following a related penalty in Florida last month.

Sam Babbs III consented to disbarment in Washington over misconduct allegations that included misusing advance funds from clients and practicing law in states where he was not licensed. The District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility this week recommended that the city's highest court, which oversees attorney misconduct, impose the sanction.

His disbarment would be effective on April 11, giving him a window, bar regulators said, to wind down his practice. He has been a member of the D.C. bar since 2009.

In a separate action, the Florida Supreme Court last month revoked his license to practice for at least five years. The D.C. bar's disciplinary office said some of the matters it was investigating were the same as complaints lodged against him in Florida.

Babbs, whose work focused on bankruptcy matters involving individuals and families, told Reuters on Wednesday that he has no interest in practicing bankruptcy law again and decided not to fight the claims.

"You have to know when to hold them and when to fold them," he said.

He said he will have the ability in both jurisdictions to reapply to the bar. Babbs said his business model, where he tried to build and maintain a national practice relying on local counsel, came about from "bad advice."

The D.C. bar's disciplinary office was investigating a referral from the U.S. Trustee Program, the U.S. Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog.

"In at least 30 cases, the bankruptcy courts have sanctioned me for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, charging unreasonable fees and violating the Bankruptcy Rules including for not making required disclosures," Babbs told the D.C. bar's discipline team.

Bankruptcy courts in some instances blocked Babbs from making further appearances and also ordered him to disgorge the fees he had received from clients.

The D.C. bar's disciplinary office on Wednesday declined to comment.

The case is In the Matter of Sam Babbs III, D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility, Disciplinary Docket 2021-D142, et al.

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Bankruptcy lawyer disbarred after sanctions in 30 cases 

Woman claims lawyer never told her he was disbarred

by Susan El Khoury 

Before hiring a lawyer, a Missouri woman has a warning she wishes she didn't have to learn the hard way.

ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) -- A Missouri woman claims her lawyer didn't tell her he was disbarred, leaving her thinking she had someone representing her case for months.

In Missouri, complaints against a lawyer's license must be submitted to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel. If the Counsel believes there is wrongdoing, the case is sent to the Missouri Supreme Court.

When a lawyer is disbarred, they receive a letter from the Missouri Supreme Court that states they must, "comply in all respects with Rule 5.27." That rule gives people 15 days from when they were disbarred to follow multiple steps, including notifying clients with pending cases in writing.

Donna Vorwold said she never received notice in writing when her lawyer was disbarred.

"I went online and started Googling him and found out he was disbarred and said no," Vorwold recalled. "How can this happen 11 months ago and nobody telling me?"

Vorwold hired John Tresslar to represent her in a lawsuit they filed in 2018.

In October 2020, Tresslar was disbarred when the Missouri Supreme Court found him guilty of professional misconduct. A brief by the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel explained that it found Tresslar spent $51,220 of a client's settlement money. According to the brief, Tresslar knew about that misspending and did it again, taking $14,000 from another client's settlement fund. The brief goes on to say Tresslar falsely represented himself as someone's attorney and was dishonest during disciplinary proceedings.

"You're breaking the law if you're playing lawyer and you're disbarred," Vorwold said.

In Vorwold's case, court records show Tresslar is currently listed as her lawyer. Vorwold told News 4 she didn't know she needed to change that until almost a year after Tresslar was disbarred, and the lawyer representing the other side in her suit called her.

"He told me you don't have a lawyer anymore so now it's legal for me to talk to you and I was like what is this guy talking about," Vorwold said.

News 4 Investigates learned Tresslar still has an office in downtown St. Louis. Tresslar wasn't in his office when News 4 stopped by.

During a phone call Tresslar said he stopped working with Vorwold. When questioned if he ever notified Vorwold in writing that he was disbarred Tresslar said, "yea I didn't represent her for any hearings or anything." Tresslar was unable to provide a copy of the written notice and said it was in Vorwold's case file, which he no longer had.

As it turns out, the Missouri Supreme Court required Tresslar to file proof that he followed the disbarment rules. News 4 Investigates learned that record doesn't exist. If the record existed, it should include proof clients were notified in writing, proof that clients were given their complete case files, and proof of a surrendered law license.

"There's no gray area at all, this is a real serious thing," said Attorney Tony Behr, a partner at Behr, McCarter, Potter, Neely & Hyde. "Most attorneys don't even realize what happens until a complaint is filed against them."

Behr was not involved in Tresslar's case, but represented other lawyers and helped them follow the disbarment rules.

"If we don't do it right, then we really haven't served the public," Behr added.

Behr explained that notifying clients can get complicated.

"You have to find the clients first of all, you don't always know where they live," he said.

Once Behr helps find a client, he makes sure they get their case files to bring to a new lawyer.

"We actually hand them the file and have the receipt that they say, I so and so, signed for receipt of my file and then I have them sign and date it," Behr said.

Behr said he uses that signature as part of the proof to send to the court.

It's a step News 4 Investigates learned not everyone takes. A search of Missouri court records for lawyers disbarred in 2021 shows out of nine people, two surrendered their law license, and one submitted an affidavit claiming they took every step. The majority of lawyers disbarred this year haven't followed the court order.

During a second phone call, News 4 Investigates asked Tresslar if he could provide proof he followed the Missouri Supreme Court disbarment rules. Tresslar was unable to do that.

"I certainly did not practice law without a license and any allegation that I did is completely false," Tresslar said on the phone.

Tresslar said Vorwold was his only client with a pending case at the time he was disbarred.

Vorwold is taking matters into her own hands and reported what happened to the Missouri Supreme Court. It's a side of the law she believes she should have been protected from.

"Somebody needs to be following up on lawyers that are disbarred to make sure they're doing the right thing," Vorwold added.

Tresslar said he's still practicing law, just not in Missouri. He is currently licensed in Illinois. Tresslar told News 4 that he plans to reapply to the Missouri Bar. 

You can search Missouri lawyer disbarment and discipline records here. 

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Woman claims lawyer never told her he was disbarred

Eviction lawyer booked into jail weeks after his disbarment

Brian Read, 45, of Freeland, pleaded guilty Monday to vehicular assault while under the influence.

by Ellen Dennis 

Brian Read

EVERETT — A lawyer who was disbarred last month for financial misconduct was sentenced to three months in the Snohomish County Jail this week for causing a five-car crash while intoxicated in 2019.

On the evening of Nov. 3, 2019, Brian Read was driving a Chevrolet Suburban north on I-5. His SUV began to fishtail near the 164th Street exit in Lynnwood, witnesses reported. The five-lane freeway is straight and flat near that exit.

Read, 45, a former landlord-tenant attorney, veered his Chevy into the carpool lane. The lawyer’s SUV crossed the shoulder and crashed into a guardrail, leaving a 6-foot bend in the rail, according to charging documents filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.

Four other cars crashed as a result, according to court records.

One witness reported she was driving her Volkswagen Beetle in the interstate’s far right lane when she saw the Chevy erratically crossing traffic lanes in the direction of the guardrail. Read’s SUV rammed into the driver’s side of her Beetle, and her car rolled off the freeway and down a grassy embankment. She walked away with minor injuries.

Another witness was driving her Jeep Cherokee in the middle lane when she saw the Chevy lose control. She steered to the right to avoid colliding with the SUV. This caused the Jeep to rear-end another vehicle. She suffered a broken right leg.

A Washington State Patrol trooper arrived to find Read standing next to the Chevy. Read reportedly told the trooper he lost control of the vehicle and was “not sure if he had caused the series of collisions,” according to court records.

The trooper smelled alcohol on Read’s breath and noticed his eyes were bloodshot and watery. Read agreed to field sobriety tests and struggled with the walk-and-turn test, according to charging papers.

Read, of Freeland on Whidbey Island, was arrested and transported to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, where a sample of his blood was collected more than two hours after the crash. His blood-alcohol content at that time was 0.11 — above the legal limit of 0.08.

Read was not required to post bond, on a promise to show up to court hearings. He continued to practice law for the next two years, specializing in providing counsel to landlords in eviction lawsuits throughout Snohomish County.

In March, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow charged Read with vehicular assault while under the influence. Read continued to practice law for almost three months after that.

He worked as an attorney in Washington for nearly 20 years. In 2020, he was outspoken about his opposition to the statewide eviction moratorium. He talked to reporters from KING 5 and made posts on his law firm’s Facebook page.

Read was disbarred last month for taking thousands of dollars out of a client trust account to pay his mortgage, and for showing indifference in repaying the money, among other financial misconduct.

On Monday, the ex-lawyer pleaded guilty to the felony charges. He was represented by a public defender, Robert O’Neal.

Under state guidelines, Read faced a range of three to nine months behind bars. Superior Court Judge Cassandra Lopez-Shaw handed down a three-month jail sentence, in line with the recommendation of prosecutors.

The ex-lawyer must complete one year of probation after his release from jail. During that time, he must refrain from drinking alcohol and undergo an evaluation for substance use disorder.

Full Article & Source:

Eviction lawyer booked into jail weeks after his disbarment

 

See Also: 

Evictions lawyer used client trust funds to pay mortgage

Evictions lawyer used client trust funds to pay mortgage

The state bar found repeated misconduct by Brian Read, who practiced in Everett and represented landlords in rental disputes.  

 

by Ellen Dennis 

Brian Read

EVERETT — A lawyer who practiced in Everett has been disbarred for taking thousands of dollars out of a client trust account to pay his mortgage and showing indifference in repaying the money, among other financial misconduct.

Brian Read, 45, of Freeland, mostly represented landlords in evictions and other landlord-tenant cases. He worked as an attorney in Washington for nearly 20 years, and in 2020, he was outspoken about his opposition to the statewide eviction moratorium.

From 2015 to 2018, Read violated the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct by taking money from his client trust account at Chase Bank for personal use, according to his notice of disbarment released last week by the state bar association. A lawyer must maintain a trust account when holding money on behalf of clients or third parties, to ensure the trust is separate from the lawyer’s personal finances.

In those three years, Read withdrew more money from the client trust account than he deposited into it. The bar found he did not keep records required for the account, and when he did, they were often incorrect.

On July 2, 2018, Read tried to make a $300 transfer from the client trust account to his business account. The transfer was cancelled by the bank due to insufficient funds. Under state law, lawyers must report any client trust account overdrafts and provide an explanation to the Washington State Bar Association. Read did not.

Instead, he began depositing his own money into the account to replenish the funds. He didn’t do it quickly enough, and as of Dec. 11, 2018, the account was $12,000 in the red.

On July 12, 2018, the state Bar Association’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel sent Read a letter requesting an explanation for the overdraft, a statement about how it was corrected and records for the client trust account dating back two months.

Read requested an extension until Aug. 31, 2018. He missed the deadline.

In October 2018, the state bar served a subpoena on Read, requiring him to appear at a deposition. That month, Read hired another lawyer to reconstruct records for the client trust account.

At his deposition, Read reportedly told disciplinary personnel he felt “burdened by the demands of (his) law practice and family life,” and that his situation caused the financial misconduct.

He reportedly added that he was stressed, and the stress was exacerbated by marital problems and financial difficulties, according to court documents.

The state bar’s disciplinary board noted aggravating factors in the decision to disbar Read: a pattern of misconduct, multiple offenses and an “indifference” to paying restitution.

Read was required to pay back thousands of dollars to the clients, though the exact amount still owed was kept confidential in the disciplinary paperwork.

The attorney had no prior record of misconduct.

Before his disbarment, Read went public with his opposition to the statewide eviction moratorium, talking to reporters from KING 5 and making posts on his law firm’s Facebook page.

The moratorium, he said, turned landlords into “economic hostages.”

On Read’s website, an information page said, “Brian appreciates and respects that for landlords, owning rental property is part of their ‘American Dream.’ Brian is proud to be a knowledgeable, affordable resource for property owners and managers looking to protect and maximize their returns.”

Court records show Read was still practicing law last month, weeks before his disbarment took effect in late June.

Reached by phone, Read declined to comment to a Daily Herald reporter. His law firm’s website was taken down shortly after the bar sent out a notice he could no longer practice.

Full Article & Source:

Evictions lawyer used client trust funds to pay mortgage

Lawyer is disbarred after missing multiple hearings; he blamed PTSD caused by his medical condition

By Debra Cassens Weiss

A Virginia lawyer’s license to practice law has been revoked after former clients testified that he left them in the lurch while his license was suspended earlier this year.

Lawyer Jonathan Preston Fisher, 45, of Blacksburg, Virginia, lost his license at the end of a remote disciplinary hearing May 21, the Roanoke Times reports.

An online entry said he violated Virginia Supreme Court rules on the duties of suspended lawyers.

According to the Roanoke Times, Fisher has an “extensive history of run-ins with judges and other attorneys.” Judges cited him for contempt for failing to appear in court—citations that were later dismissed—and he was fined for swearing at a prosecutor and threatening to sue his office.

Fisher has attributed his problems to having too many clients and to the post-traumatic stress disorder he has as a result of brittle bone disease. He told the Roanoke Times in May 2019 that he has had more than 50 broken bones because of the disorder, known as osteogenesis imperfecta.

The Virginia State Bar’s disciplinary board noted Fisher’s health problems when it suspended him for two months beginning Feb. 1. The board said Fisher failed to appear for trials of several clients and failed to tell several other clients about their convictions. He also failed to safeguard client property because of trust accounting and fee violations, the disciplinary board concluded.

When the board included descriptions of the cases, they concerned traffic violations.

The board said Fisher had no prior disciplinary history, and he cooperated in the bar investigation that led to the suspension.

“He lives with significant medical and mental health concerns,” the board said, “including a permanent physical disability causing him to use a wheelchair which would be wholly disabling for many.”

He also “exhibited remorse for his actions and made efforts to mitigate the harm to his clients by paying fines and costs for clients and refunding certain fees, even if not always timely,” the board said.

One of the people testifying against Fisher in the new disciplinary hearing was former client Kimberly Ann Brock of Christiansburg, Virginia. She has sued Fisher, alleging that he didn’t tell her that his license was suspended and didn’t refund the $4,000 fee that she paid him. Brock told the Roanoke Times that she still hasn’t received a refund.

“I hope that he gets the help he needs now, and that nobody else gets hurt,” she told the Roanoke Times.

The ABA Journal was unable to reach Fisher for comment at the phone number listed by the state bar.

Full Article & Source:

Lawyer is disbarred after missing multiple hearings; he blamed PTSD caused by his medical condition

Bar Buzz: Justices disbar lawyer for squandering trust money

By: Kevin Featherly 

The Minnesota Supreme Court has disbarred an attorney for engaging in a self-dealing scheme that funneled funds from a client’s trust into five start-up businesses that never made any money.

Barry L. Blomquist, of Eden Prairie, was disbarred by order of the court on Wednesday. He was admitted to the Minnesota bar in October 1980, but was already involuntarily restricted by previous court order, for non-payment of fees.

According to the court’s per curiam order, Blomquist n 2003 was assigned trustee over the estate of a client identified as “R.N.,” with whom he had “developed a close personal relationship.”

When R.N. died later that year, she left an estate valued at about $2 million. R.N.’s daughter, identified as “D.H.,” and R.N.’s two sons were beneficiaries. The estate was divided into three trusts.

Under terms of the will and trust, D.H. was entitled to collect portions of her trust at intervals, one-third of which was to be paid in 2006. But when she tried to collect that year, she got only $100,000—less than one-third of the principle to which she was entitled.

Her next scheduled distribution was late, and the sum was less than D.H. thought it should be. After seeking an accounting of the funds, in 2011 she finally received a trustee summary report.

“This report indicated Blomquist had invested significant sums of money from the trust principal in five recently created, startup, green-energy companies, which were all partially owned by Blomquist,” the court’s order says.

Throughout 2009 and 2010, unbeknownst to D.H., the order says, Blomquist signed seven promissory notes on behalf of his startups to obtain loans from R.N.’s trust. The notes totaled $799,000.

The company never made any payments back to the trust, the order says. Eventually all of the companies dissolved without generating any revenue. By that time, D.H.’s trust has dwindled to $20,000, the order said.

In 2011, D.H. filed a petition in Hennepin County Probate Court. The court issued summary judgment in March 2012, finding that he had breached his fiduciary duties and engaged in self-dealing.

That court found that D.H. would have been entitled to $400,000 had Blomquist not breached his duties. It ordered him to pay that amount to her. The lawyer did not appeal the ruling.

In the end, according to the per curiam order, Blomquist paid D.H. just $100,000 of the $400,000 judgment against him—and she got that much only because her attorney located some of his assets and sold them at auction.

D.H. filed a complaint with the Office of Lawyer’s Professional Responsibility in 2018. Over the following year, he failed to respond to the director’s requests for information and provided evasive answers to her queries, according to the Supreme Court order.

On June 14, Director Susan Humiston filed charges of unprofessional conduct against him. That September, she petitioned for discipline and the Supreme Court appointed a referee.

The referee concluded that Blomquist violated the state’s Rules Professional Conduct by “willingly and knowingly” failing to comply with three different court orders.

The referee also found that Blomquist misappropriated or used trust assets in bad faith, engaged in dishonest conduct by converting them for personal use while failing to account for the funds, and that he failed to cooperate with the director’s investigation.

The referee recommended disbarment and Humiston’s office agreed.

Blomquist tried to resign from the bar before the court decided the case, but the Supreme Court refused to allow it. In the end, the justices found that his conduct caused injury to D.H., the public and the legal profession meriting severe discipline.

“His behavior was selfish, he acknowledges no wrongdoing and he was previously disciplined for dishonest conduct,” their order says. “Based on this behavior and our precedent, we conclude that the appropriate discipline is disbarment.”

Blomquist’s prior disciplinary admonition occurred in 2012 for falsely notarizing a mortgage deed, conveying property from a seller to an entity that he co-owned.

The disbarment order was effective from the date of the opinion, May 5. Associate Justice Margaret Chutich took no part in the decision.

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Bar Buzz: Justices disbar lawyer for squandering trust money

South Carolina Lawyer Who Misled on Bar Application Disbarred

A suspected drunk driver (L) is asked to walk in a straight line as police conduct a field sobriety test on him.

Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

• Attorney failed to reveal DUI, other information on bar application
• She admitted misconduct, accepted sanction

A South Carolina lawyer found to have provided numerous false statements and incomplete answers on her application for admission to practice law in the state was disbarred by the state high court.

Margaret Lanier Brooks admitted to violating ethics rules prohibiting lying on a bar application and not responding to information requests from a disciplinary authority or bar admissions committee, which warrants the sanction, the South Carolina Supreme Court said June 24.

It noted that she consented to any sanction, including disbarment.

The day after Brooks was sworn into the state bar in February 2019, the office of bar admissions discovered that she’d lied on her application, the court said.

Brooks didn’t initially admit the reason for withdrawing her application for admission to the Wyoming bar in 2016, the court said. She first said it was because she didn’t want to practice there, but during her interview with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, she said she omitted the fact that there had been “resistance” from the character and fitness board in that state, it said.

She also didn’t include that her driver’s license had been suspended after being arrested for driving under the influence in 2005, the court said.

Although Brooks disclosed a 2014 DUI arrest on her South Carolina Bar application, she didn’t include a citation relating to the arrest for failing to cooperate with the police, it said.

She also stated on her application that she never acted in a way that would call into question her ability to practice law ethically, the court said.

But during her disciplinary counsel interview, she said that she submitted an altered document on her application to the Wyoming Bar, which was going to hold a hearing into her conduct.

Brooks also knowingly provided false statements on applications to the North Carolina and Idaho bars, the court said.

In light of her admissions, the court accepted Brooks’s agreement for discipline by consent and her request to disbar her retroactive to the date of her interim suspension, which was in October 2019.

One year before filing for reinstatement, she will have to complete an ethics course, it said.

Brooks didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is In re Brooks, 2020 BL 233455, S.C., No. 27983, 6/24/20.

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South Carolina Lawyer Who Misled on Bar Application Disbarred

Well-known Milwaukee lawyer Robert Menard disbarred by Wisconsin Supreme Court

by Cary Spivak 

Attorney Robert Menard appearing for a deposition in March. The deposition was taken as part of a lawsuit involving Menard's former law partner. A transcript of the deposition is on file with the Milwaukee County Clerk of Courts.  (Photo: Milwaukee County Clerk's office, )

Well-known Milwaukee lawyer Robert Menard, already facing felony charges of stealing or misusing nearly $1 million, was disbarred by the state Supreme Court Friday. 

Regulators charged Menard with 30 counts of misconduct saying he misused settlement monies for clients by pocketing the cash or using it to pay business expenses.

Regulators also charged Menard with taking settlement money intended for specific clients to pay different clients.  Menard stipulated to the wrongdoing, records show.

In revoking the law license that Menard has held since 1991, the justices compared his case to the 2012 disbarment of Joseph Weigel. 

In both cases "monies belonging to one client were routinely used to pay off other clients as well as firm and personal expenses," the justices wrote. "As in Weigel, in virtually every client matter he handled, Attorney Menard 'robbed Peter to pay Paul.'"

The regulatory complaint that led to the disbarment is similar to the pending criminal complaint that charges Menard with embezzlement and forgery for running a Ponzi scheme out of his law office.

"Attorney Robert Menard has, for many years, engaged in an extensive pattern of theft and fraud through his law practice," prosecutors charged in the criminal complaint. Menard has pleaded not guilty in the criminal case.

Menard is also charged with stealing from Alan Derzon, his long-time law partner. The criminal complaint includes charges that Menard stole Derzon's retirement account and the law firm they jointly owned.

The pair ran the firm of Derzon & Menard, which billed itself as the "average Joe" and used the fictional "Joe Bob" as its mascot. The firm broke up in 2017 when Derzon sued Menard. 

Joe Bob, the fictional character that had been used as the mascot for the now-defunct Derzon & Menard law firm. (Photo-Screen shot)

Menard changed the name of the firm to Menard & Menard and ran it until March when the Supreme Court took the unusual action of issuing an emergency order immediately suspending Menard's license.

The emergency order was issued after James Mohr Jr., a court-appointed referee,  recommended that Menard be disbarred. The recommendation came after Mohr oversaw the 2019 hearing on the misconduct charges brought by the Office of Lawyer Regulation.

During the hearing, Mary Hoeft Smith, a now-retired program administrator for the regulatory office testified that it was a "common practice for (Menard) to move client trust funds into his business account and then use those funds to pay 'very hefty expenses for things like advertising, radio, and billboards.'"

Smith "described this as a practice of 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' and using funds belonging to one client in order to pay back a client who was previously the victim of a conversion by Attorney Menard," Mohr wrote in his report. Smith testified "virtually every client whose funds went into the business account were converted."

As a disbarred lawyer, Menard is banned from practicing for at least five years. After the revocation period he could apply for reinstatement. In addition to revoking his license, the court ordered that he pay nearly $100,000 in restitution to six former clients and $18,191 to cover costs of the disciplinary proceedings.

Craig Mastantuono, Menard's criminal defense lawyer, declined to comment.

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Well-known Milwaukee lawyer Robert Menard disbarred by Wisconsin Supreme Court

Fresno lawyer disbarred by state for numerous complaints from clients

By Robert Rodriguez

Fresno attorney Jeffrey Bohn, shown here during a 2013 court hearing, has been disbarred by the California Supreme Court. Eric Paul Zamora

Read more here: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article243239321.html#storylink=cpy

Fresno attorney Jeffrey D. Bohn has been disbarred by the California State Bar for committing multiple counts of misconduct against his clients.

Calling his actions extensive and serious, the State Bar reviewed more than a dozen cases of Bohn’s former clients — all of whom complained he mishandled their affairs.

In several instances, Bohn, a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, is accused of holding onto his client’s settlement checks for weeks, months, sometimes even years, before handing their money over.

One client who was involved in a car accident complained that it took Bohn more than five years to take care of his request to have his medical bills reduced.

In other cases, his clients allege they got smaller settlements than he promised or his fee was higher than what they agreed upon.

After a hearing last fall, the State Bar court found Bohn guilty of 56 of the 90 counts leveled against him. Those counts included misappropriation, failing to perform legal services with competence, failing to pay client’s funds, failing to respond to clients inquiries and failing to cooperate in discipline investigation.

The state bar’s court issued its decision in January to disbar Bohn, a lawyer in California since 2006. Recently, the state Supreme Court approved the state bar’s action and Bohn’s status as a lawyer will be revoked on June 12.

In it’s 70-page decision, the state bar noted that Bohn had no prior record of misconduct before 2013.

Yvette D. Roland, judge of the state bar court, said normally a clean record could be used as mitigating factor when looking at discipline. But not in this case.

“Here, however, the present misconduct is extensive, serious and not aberrational,” Roland wrote in her decision.

In his defense, Bohn said he was going through emotional and physical difficulties, including health struggles with his daughters.

The court was only slightly understanding.

“While the court is sympathetic with the tragic events in respondent’s personal life, his extensive misconduct over such a lengthy period of time gives the court little reassurance that the misconduct will not continue.”

Bohn is also required to pay restitution of more than $20,000 to two of his former clients.

If Bohn is interested in being reinstated, he will have to wait five years to submit a petition for reinstatement.

He would also be required to meet several requirements, including pass a professional responsibility examination within one year prior to filing the petition, plus meet their rehabilitation standard and present moral qualifications for reinstatement.

They would also have to provide proof that they have taken and passed the Attorneys’ Examination by the Committee of Bar Examiners within three years prior to the filing of the petition

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Fresno lawyer disbarred by state for numerous complaints from clients

Nazareth lawyer disbarred after admitting Ponzi scheme

By Peter Hall

An Nazareth attorney who pleaded guilty last month to defrauding clients of more than $2.7 million has been disbarred. 

Todd H. Lahr, who had offices on Hamilton Street in Allentown, did not contest efforts by the state attorney disciplinary office to disbar him, according to an order filed in state Supreme Court.

Lahr, 60, pleaded guilty April 23 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, securities fraud and wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 3 by U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith.

Federal prosecutors in March made public an indictment charging Lahr with persuading clients to invest in global business opportunities that didn’t exist.

Instead, the U.S. attorney’s office in Philadelphia said, Todd Lahr raised more than $2.7 million from victims that he used to make payments to earlier investors and to pay his home mortgage, his child’s school tuition, utility bills, and other personal expenses.

Lahr told investors, who included clients of his Allentown law practice, that he and Megas would use their money to invest in business opportunities around the world, including mining companies in Papua New Guinea and properties in London and Barcelona, court records say.

According to court records, Lahr fraudulently told his investors that 100% of their money would be used for investments. He persuaded some to invest by providing promissory notes that he claimed would provide a 10% annual return on their investments. Lahr allegedly gave others shares of THL Holdings, the indictment says.

Lahr raised money from at least 20 different investors, the indictment alleges. He and a business partner also face a lawsuit from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking the return of profits from the alleged scheme with interest and fines. It also seeks court orders against future violations of the federal securities laws.

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Nazareth lawyer disbarred after admitting Ponzi scheme

Suspended Warsaw attorney disbarred following theft, fraud conviction

by Dave Stafford

A northern Indiana lawyer who was indefinitely suspended in March after he pleaded guilty to multiple felony theft charges was disbarred Wednesday by the Indiana Supreme Court.

Justices unanimously leveled the most severe attorney discipline sanction against Scott J. Lennox, ordering him disbarred immediately for 15 rule violations related to “neglecting client matters, mismanaging his attorney trust accounts, converting client funds, and failing to cooperate with the disciplinary process.”

In the per curium opinion In The Matter of Scott Joseph Lennox, 19S-DI-628, justices accepted the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission’s allegations against Lennox, who did not appear or respond to the proceedings against him.

Lennox, formerly a partner with Lennox, Sobek & Buehler LLC in Warsaw, was suspended last November for noncooperation with the commission’s investigation of four grievances against him. Relatedly, Lennox had been criminally charged in Kosciusko Circuit Court with multiple felonies alleging theft of client funds, among other counts.

Lennox pleaded guilty in March to two counts of Level 5 felony fraud on a financial institution and six counts of Level 6 felony theft arising from a case investigated by Warsaw police after money entrusted to the firm went missing. Under terms of his plea agreement, Lennox agreed to make restitution of more than $51,000 to his former law firm, clients and a bank.

The court said in its order Wednesday that Lennox “failed to maintain appropriate records for two trust accounts and made several unauthorized withdrawals of client funds, converting those funds for his personal use.” He also “made several unauthorized withdrawals and converted client funds from a third trust account,” resulting in criminal charges.

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Suspended Warsaw attorney disbarred following theft, fraud conviction

Maryland Lawyer Disbarred For Neglecting Ten Clients

The Maryland capitol.

Photographer: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

• Breached duties of competence, communication, safekeeping of property
• Told clients to not contact him about cases

A Maryland lawyer found to have breached numerous ethics rules in his representation of ten clients was ordered disbarred by the state high court.

Mohamed Alpha Bah’s “pattern of neglect and abandonment” caused “personal and financial harm to his clients and their businesses,” the Maryland Court of Appeals said in an April 10 opinion.

The court disbarred Baltimore, Md., attorney in March after affirming a hearing judge’s findings, and issued the opinion to explain its reasoning.

From 2015 to 2017, Bah agreed to represent the clients in various matters, including employment discrimination, a trademark application, and an eviction proceeding.

But in nine of those cases, he failed to deposit the thousands of dollars in fees paid to him into an attorney trust account until earned, the court said. Bah admitted as much in response to a bar counsel complaint, it said.

The court cited as an example a $500 “filing fee” Bah collected from a client that he never deposited but used for his “personal benefit,” which the court called “deceitful and dishonest.”

The hearing judge assigned to his case found that he failed to inform his clients of the status of their cases and failed to consult with or respond to his clients, the appeals court said.

In one case, for example, Bah amended a fee agreement without getting the client’s written consent, it said.

The hearing judge entered a default judgment against Bah in 2019, concluding he violated his duties relating to competence, scope of representation, diligence, communication,safekeeping of property, terminating representation, and expediting litigation.

The appeals court affirmed the hearing judge’s findings, noting that Bah didn’t appear for oral argument.

It found he abandoned seven of his clients, collecting fees before completing the work. In 10 of the matters, he didn’t respond to requests for information from the clients, and “even sent a mass email directing his clients not to contact him regarding the status of their matters,” the court said.

Bah has intentionally failed to comply with requests for information including his financial records and bank account information, it said.

Aside from failing to present any mitigating factors on his own behalf, according to the court, Bah has never acknowledged the wrongful nature of his conduct or shown remorse, and has displayed “complete indifference” to making restitution to a number of clients.

No contact information for Bah could be located.

The case is Atty. Griev. Comm’n of Md. v. Bah, 2020 BL 134041, Md., No. Misc. Docket AG No. 3, 4/10/20.

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Maryland Lawyer Disbarred For Neglecting Ten Clients

Nebraska Lawyer Disbarred For Punching 83-Year-Old Father (1)

A Nebraska lawyer who pleaded no contest to a felony after punching his elderly father in the face several times 2018 has been disbarred by the state’s supreme court.

The Nebraska Supreme Court said on March 27 that while there’s no “bright line rule,” its cases “regarding the appropriate discipline for felony convictions have generally concluded that such convictions reflect adversely upon a lawyer’s fitness to practice law and that disbarment is the appropriate sanction.”

Omaha attorney Evangelos A. Argyrakis pleaded no contest in 2018 to a charge of “knowing and intentional abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult or senior adult, a Class IIIA felony” and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

Argyrakis, at the time of the assault, was a Democratic Party candidate for Nebraska attorney general, according to local news reports.

At his disciplinary hearing, Argyrakis said that since 2010, he had seen five different doctors for mental health therapy and medication management and that during his childhood, his father physically and emotionally abused him and that he witnessed his father physically abusing his mother, the court said.

He called a mental health expert to testify that his depressive disorder, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder contributed to the incident between him and his father, it said. But the hearing referee placed little weight on the testimony as a mitigating factor because “the opinions were formed solely on the basis of self-reporting by Argyrakis,” the court said.

The referee found that a mitigating factor was his lack of a prior disciplinary record in over 25 years of practice, it added. However, Argyrakis didn’t accept responsibility for his misconduct, the court said.

And the referee also concluded that Argyrakis had been convicted of a crime of violence, in violation of state professional conduct rule, it added. While the crime of abuse of a vulnerable adult may not always constitute a crime of violence, particularly when there’s an issue of neglect or exploitation, in this case the record from the criminal case showed showed otherwise, the referee found.

A conviction for a crime of violence “damages the reputation of the bar and threatens public confidence in the profession,” the court said. “For these reasons, we conclude, after considering the appropriate factors, that disbarment is the appropriate sanction in this case,” it said.

Argyrakis, in a statement emailed to Bloomberg Law, said he’d retired from the practice of law prior to his disbarment.

“I did not have any clients, nor did I have any client funds at the time of the incident and I was in no danger to anyone in the public in terms of providing any type of misinformed legal services or any kind legal negligence,” he said.

The case is State ex rel. Counsel for Discipline of the Neb. Supreme Court v. Argyrakis, 2020 BL 114456, Neb., No. S-19-059, 3/27/20.

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Nebraska Lawyer Disbarred For Punching 83-Year-Old Father (1)