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Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Ind. Courts - "Two lawyers suspended by state justices"

"Two lawyers suspended by state justices" is the headline to this story by Niki Kelly in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Some quotes:

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Supreme Court on Tuesday released discipline rulings against two area lawyers – including a short suspension for a Wabash attorney and a yearlong hiatus for an Allen County defense lawyer.

Nicole Jaubert, of Fort Wayne, was suspended for 12 months starting Sept. 11. After the suspension she must apply for reinstatement.

According to the ruling, a client hired Jaubert in August 2003 to seek a sentence modification. For 10 months the client heard nothing from Jaubert so he filed a grievance with the state disciplinary commission.

In response, Jaubert told the commission that she had contacted the prosecutor’s office about a modification and produced copies of letters and a proposed motion she claimed to have sent to the prosecutor. She also further claimed the prosecutor had written back objecting to a change in sentence.

Jaubert then told the commission she updated her client in an April 2004 letter.

But, the ruling said, “the parties agree that (Jaubert’s) assertions were false and that she did not send the documents she produced as she claimed.” * * *

In the second case, Michael J. Smith – of Wabash – received a 60-day suspension also beginning Sept. 11.

According to the ruling, Smith was hired by an Ohio law firm to collect debts owed by Indiana residents to one of its clients. He agreed to do so on a contingency basis but had no written fee agreement.

Smith then used his local law practice account – instead of an attorney trust account – to hold his clients’ money as well as his own personal deposits. From this account, he paid personal bills not associated with his law practice and did not “appropriately safeguard his client’s money.”

The commingling of the money resulted in Smith’s violating several rules of professional conduct.

After his suspension, Smith will be readmitted to practice law subject to a year’s probation that requires him to retain the services of a professional accountant to review his trust account and certify that he is in compliance with state rules.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard dissented in the opinion, noting the case warranted more than a minimal suspension.

“This is not just a technical violation of trust account rules,” he wrote. “(Smith) was paying his personal bills with his client’s money. The client did not get paid on schedule because (Smith) had spent the client’s orders here.

Here is a link to the Supreme Court's disciplinary order's page.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 26, 2006 06:16 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts