Disciplinary History

An attorney was summarily suspended from the practice of law in the State of Alabama pursuant to Rules 8(e) and 20(a), Ala. R. Disc. P., by order of the Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama State Bar, effective January 8, 2016. The Disciplinary Commission’s order was based on a petition filed by the Office of General Counsel evidencing the attorney failed or refused to respond to requests for information from a disciplinary authority during the course of disciplinary investigations.

The attorney was issued a public reprimand without general publication on January 8, 2016, for violating Rules 1.1, 1.3, and 8.4(d), Ala. R. Prof. C. On or about April 8, 2015, the Clerk of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals submitted to the Disciplinary Commission copies of three briefs filed by the attorney on behalf of appointed clients. The attorney submitted a brief on behalf of an appellant, whose parental rights were terminated by a County Juvenile Court. In its opinion affirming the judgment of the juvenile court, the Court noted that the argument section of the attorney's brief was just over a page long, the brief only cited to general propositions of law, and did not cite the current Alabama Juvenile Justice Act that controlled the issues in the case. Moreover, the attorney misstated the standard of review for termination of parental rights cases, misstated the gender of the client on multiple occasions, and mistakenly incorporated facts that were from an unrelated case. As a result, the Court found that the attorney's brief failed to comply with Rule 28, Ala. R. Civ. Proc. In a separate case, the attorney was retained to represent a client on concurrent appeals of a civil forfeiture stemming from a drug arrest. The Court of Civil Appeals dismissed both appeals due to the attorney's failure to file a timely notice of appeal in each matter.

An attorney received a public reprimand with general publication on January 8, 2016, for violating Rules 1.6 and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. On or about January 29, 2015, the Office of General Counsel received copies of screen shots from a lawyer rating website. The website allows clients to post comments regarding their lawyers. On the website, a former client of the attorney posted an anonymous negative review. The attorney responded to the negative review by posting an online response attacking his former client and revealing confidential information. In the attorney's posted response, he stated that the client was ignorant and then revealed that the client had been charged with DUI, a drug charge, and also had a divorce case. The attorney also revealed that the client had been “locked up in the looney bin” for months due to “numerous and severe” psychological conditions. The attorney also told the client to “show some fortitude and man up boy.”

The attorney was issued a public reprimand with general publication on January 8, 2016, for violating Rules 1.1, 1.4(a) and (b), and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. On or about October 6, 2014, a complaint was filed against the attorney, alleging that the attorney had failed to competently represent a client on immigration matters. The attorney initially accompanied the client to the Immigration Court in Atlanta, Georgia for the removal proceedings. However, the hearing was cancelled at the last minute. Thereafter, the attorney filed a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on the client’s behalf. However, the attorney erred in filing the Form I-130 Petition because the client did not qualify for entry into the United States under its terms and conditions, a fact the attorney should have been aware of.

On August 21, 2013, the Disciplinary Commission accepted a conditional guilty plea from the attorney wherein, upon successful completion of two (2) years of probation with multiple terms, he agreed to accept a public reprimand with general publication for violating Rules 1.2(d), 8.4(a), 8.4(c), and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. On or about January 18, 2012, the attorney notarized a signed lease without the lessor or lessee signing the document in his presence.

The attorney, on January 8, 2016, received a private reprimand for violations of Rules 4.2(a), 8.4(a), 8.4(d), and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. On or about February 5, 2015, the respondent attorney contacted a person he knew to be represented by counsel.

On, January 8, 2016, the attorney was issued a private reprimand for violation of Rule 1.1, Ala. R. Prof. C. The attorney undertook to represent a client on a will contest. Rather than file the will contest in circuit court as is required in his County, he filed the will contest in probate court. By the time the attorney realized his mistake and filed the will contest in circuit court, the statute of limitations had run and the contest was untimely.

The attorney was disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Alabama, effective December 15, 2015, by Order of the Alabama Supreme Court. The Supreme Court entered its Order based upon the decision of the Disciplinary Board of the Alabama State Bar finding the attorney violated Rules 1.3, 1.4, 1.15(a), (b), and (n), 8.1, and 8.4(a), (b), (c), and (g), Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct. The attorney failed to respond to or deny charges he accepted settlement funds on behalf of multiple clients in multiple cases, then failed to disburse to the clients’ their share of the settlement proceeds. The clients’ funds were not preserved in the attorney's trust account, and were instead disbursed to the attorney or third parties. Prior to disbarment the attorney was interimly and summarily suspended on May 13, 2015, by Order of the Disciplinary Commission finding probable cause that the attorney's conduct was causing or likely to cause immediate and serious injury to a client or the public, and that he failed to respond to requests for information during the course of a disciplinary investigation.

On December 8, 2015, the attorney received a private reprimand for violating Rule 5.5(a)(1), Ala. R. Prof. C., and was ordered to pay a $750.00 administrative fee pursuant to Rule 33(d)(9), Ala. R. Disc. P. On or about January 6, 2015, the respondent attorney was placed on Inactive Status for failure to pay for his occupational license. He did not pay the fee until January 30, 2015. During this time, the respondent attorney was involved in a matter where funds were to be distributed to the defendant through the respondent attorney acting as his counsel of record. In participating in this action while on Inactive Status, the respondent attorney engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.

On December 8, 2015, the attorney received a private reprimand for violating Rule 1.4(b), Ala. R. Prof. C., and was ordered to pay a $750.00 administrative fee pursuant to Rule 33(d)(9), Ala. R. Disc. P. In or about August 2011, the respondent attorney was contacted by a potential client to represent her in a personal injury matter. However, the respondent attorney failed to properly communicate his decision to decline to represent the potential client in the matter. The respondent attorney failed to explain the matter to the client to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.
[In June of 2011, Comp retained RA to represent her in a worker’s comp case against the city of Birmingham. Comp heard nothing from RA until 2013 when RA informed her he was not taking the case. The SOL had run by this time & Comp is out $1200 per month.]

On February 17, 2016, the Supreme Court of Alabama entered an order of reciprocal discipline suspending the attorney for a period of two years effective November 15, 2015. On November 20, 2015, another State Bar issued an Agreed Judgment of Active Suspension which imposed a fine and other discipline on the attorney, also admitted in said State, including suspending her from the practice of law in that State for a period of two years, beginning November 15, 2015, and ending November 14, 2017. According to the Agreed Judgment of Active Suspension, the attorney engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, and misrepresentation, in violation of the other State's Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.

The attorney was disbarred and excluded from the practice of law in the State of Alabama effective November 6, 2015, by order of the Alabama Supreme Court subject to the terms and conditions of the October 23, 2015, order entered by the Disciplinary Board of the Alabama State Bar, finding the attorney guilty of violating Rules 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.15(a), 1.16(a)(2), 8.1(b), 8.4(a), 8.4(c), and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. The attorney failed or refused to communicate with his clients, failed or refused to perform the work for which he was paid and commingled the clients’ fees with his personal funds. The attorney had previously been summarily suspended January 8, 2013.

On April 8, 2015, the Disciplinary Commission determined the attorney should receive a public reprimand without general publication and pay a $750 administrative fee pursuant to Rule 33, Ala. R. Disc. P., for violating Rules 8.4(a) and (g) and 8.1(a), Ala. R. Prof. C. In or about October of 2011, the complainant hired the attorney to represent him in a matter seeking compensation for inadequate accommodations provided to his son by a public school system. On or about October 2, 2013, the complainant telephoned the attorney. After the attorney first denied he cursed his client in his initial response to the Bar, he later admitted conducting a very “unprofessional” telephone call with the client wherein he did, in fact, curse at the complainant. With this conduct, the attorney violated Rule 8.1(a), Ala. R. Prof. C., by knowingly making a false statement of material fact and Rules 8.4(a) and (g), Ala. R. Prof. C., by engaging in conduct adversely reflecting on his fitness to practice law.

On October 30, 2015, the attorney received a public reprimand without general publication for violations of Rules 1.3 and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. In March of 2012, the attorney undertook to defend a restaurant and its owners on a workers’ compensation claim. The plaintiff subsequently filed a Fair Labor Standards Act suit in federal court in April of 2012. Each of the defendants was properly served with the complaint. However, the defendants failed to file an answer and a default was entered. In September of 2012, after a writ of garnishment had been issued, the attorney filed a Motion to Set Aside the Default Judgment. As grounds, the attorney argued that the clients did not fully comprehend English and mistakenly believed that the complaint was related to the ongoing workers’ compensation claim in state court. Later, the attorney filed another motion to set aside the default judgment in which he admitted the failure to file an answer to the federal complaint was based upon his own negligence. The attorney admitted his clients had delivered a copy of the federal complaint to him and he informed the clients he would file an answer on their behalf. However, the attorney also placed the complaint in his coat pocket and forgot the matter until the clients notified him of the garnishment.

On August 13, 2014, the Disciplinary Commission determined the attorney should receive a public reprimand with general publication for violating Rules 1.4(a) 1.5(c), and 5.3(a) and (b), Ala. R. Prof. C. In or about January of 2009, the attorney was hired by a client to file an asbestos-related lawsuit. During the course of this representation, the attorney failed to enter into a written contingency fee contract with the client, failed to keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information, and failed to properly supervise his non-lawyer employees because the attorney failed to review almost all of the correspondence in this matter and his bookkeeper misappropriated money.