Disciplinary History

On February 6, 2013, the Supreme Court of Alabama adopted the January 22, 2013 order entered by Panel I of the Disciplinary Board of the Alabama State Bar disbarring an attorney from the practice of law in Alabama. This disbarment was entered pursuant to the attorney filing a Consent to Disbarment on January 18, 2013. The attorney waived her right to any further proceedings and the right to appeal. Rule 23a, Ala. R. Disc.P..

On February 1, 2013, an attorney received a private reprimand for violations of Rules 1.4(a), 1.4(b) and 8.4(a), Ala. R. Prof. C. The respondent attorney represented a client in a divorce. During the course of the representation, the respondent attorney failed to notify the client that the matter was set for a final hearing. Neither the client nor the respondent attorney appeared at the hearing. The court entered a final order without the benefit of evidence from the respondent attorney’s client. The respondent attorney was eventually able to get the order set aside and another hearing date was set. Although the respondent attorney attempted to contact his client by letter, he was unable to make contact with him prior to the hearing. The respondent attorney did not attempt to call the client until the day of the hearing. The client did not answer and the respondent attorney left a voicemail message. The respondent attorney appeared at the hearing without his client and waived his presence. Because the respondent attorney waived his client’s presence at the hearing, he was unaware that his client was unemployed at the time. The court ordered the client to pay rehabilitative alimony, as there was no testimony regarding the client’s current financial status. Later that day, the respondent attorney’s client returned his call and he was advised of the status of the matter. Subsequent efforts to submit additional evidence were rejected by the court.

An attorney was disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Alabama by order of the Alabama Supreme Court effective January 30, 2013. The Supreme Court entered its order based upon the decision of the Disciplinary Board, Panel II, of the Alabama State Bar wherein the attorney was found guilty of violating Rules 1.4(b), 1.15(a), 8.1(a), and 8.4 (a), (b), (c) and (g), Ala. R. Prof. C. The attorney represented a client in divorce proceedings. At the attorney’s suggestion, the client paced $29,000.00 in his trust account. A couple of days later, the client and his wife reconciled and asked for the money to be returned. Thereafter, the attorney gave excuse after excuse as to why he could not return the money. The attorney subsequently refunded the money in two installments, but told the client to contact him before cashing the checks. When the client informed the attorney he was going to cash the checks, the attorney placed stop-payment orders on the checks.

On January 28, 2013, an attorney received a private reprimand for violating Rules 7.3(a) and (b), Ala. R. Prof. C. In May of 2012, the respondent attorney’s firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of a client alleging that the client’s home builder improperly constructed the client’s home. After suit was filed, an expert was engaged to inspect the client’s home, and reported that the home builder improperly compacted the fill dirt which later led to cracks and shifting of the home’s foundation. As a result, the respondent attorney wrote a letter to the other homeowners in the area notifying the homeowners of potential problems with their homes’ foundation. In sending out the letters to the homeowners, the respondent attorney failed to label the letters as advertising, did not include the advertising disclaimer, and did not file copies of the letters with the Alabama State Bar, thereby violating Rules 7.3(a) and (b), Ala. R. Prof. C.

An attorney was interimly suspended from the practice of law in the State of Alabama by order of the Supreme Court of Alabama, effective January 24, 2013. The Supreme Court entered its Order based upon the January 24, 2013 Order of the Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama State Bar in response to a petition filed by the Office of General Counsel evidencing that the attorney's conduct is causing, or is likely to cause, immediate and serious injury to a client or to the public. On February 13, 2013, the Disciplinary Commission granted the Office of General Counsel’s petition that the interim suspension be dissolved based on the attorney's subsequent conditional guilty plea in other matters. [Rule 20a, Ala. R. Disc. P.]

On January 24, 2013, an attorney received a private reprimand when he entered a conditional guilty plea for violations of Rules 1.15(b) and 1.15(c), Ala. R. Prof. C. In or about February of 2010, the complainant wrote the respondent attorney repeatedly requesting her file or a copy of her file. After no response, the complainant filed a complaint with the Alabama State Bar indicating she had not received her file. The Bar instructed the respondent attorney to provide the complainant with her file or a copy of her file. The respondent attorney informed the Bar that it would be burdensome to provide the complainant with a copy of her file due to the volume of her file. The respondent attorney was again instructed to provide the complainant with her file or a copy of her file. Finally, in August of 2012, the respondent attorney provided the complainant with her file. The respondent attorney’s failure to provide the complainant with her file or a copy of her file violated Rules 1.15(b) and 1.15(c), Ala. R. Prof. C.

An attorney was disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Alabama, by Order of the Supreme Court of Alabama, with an effective date of January 23, 2012. The Supreme Court entered its order based upon the November 30, 2012 Report and Order of Panel I of the Disciplinary Board of the Alabama State Bar disbarring the attorney. In one case, the attorney was found guilty of violating Rules 3.3(a)(1), 8.4(a), 8.4(c) and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. The attorney filed a personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, and in the petition he falsely stated his county of residence in an effort to avoid venue in the jurisdiction in which he normally practices. The use of the false address was discovered by the court during a separate investigation into the filing of similar false bankruptcy petitions by the attorney's counsel. As a result, the court found that the attorney had committed a fraud upon the court and revoked and vacated his bankruptcy discharge. In another matter the attorney was found guilty of violating Rules 1.15(a) and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. It was reported to the Bar that the attorney accepted $1,500.00 from a client for representation in a bankruptcy case. After accepting payment, the attorney left the state and moved to another state without filing the client’s petition. The attorney further admitted that he never deposited unearned fees and/or filing fees for the Chapter 7 bankruptcy case into his trust account.

On January 21, 2013, an attorney received a private reprimand for violating Rules 1.3 and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. The attorney was assigned to represent a client on charges of discrimination that had been filed with the EEOC. While preparing to go on maternity leave, the attorney met with members of her firm and assured the members that all of her files were current. Shortly after the attorney began maternity leave, a partner with her firm was notified that a discrimination lawsuit had been filed against the client. The partner discovered that the attorney had failed to perform any work on the matter. A further investigation revealed that the attorney had failed to perform work in a timely manner on several other cases involving EEOC claims against the client.

On January 18, 2013, an Alabama attorney, who is also licensed to practice law in another state, received reciprocal discipline in the form of a private reprimand, pursuant to Rule 25(a), Ala. R. Disc. P. On October 26, 2012, Disciplinary Counsel of another state, issued a private admonition to the respondent attorney for violating their Rules of Professional Conduct for knowingly assisting another attorney in violating the Rules of Professional Conduct, and for engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation. In December of 2011, the respondent attorney notarized a mortgage document for his law partner, which document had allegedly been signed by his law partner’s wife. Later, the law partner and his wife began divorce proceedings, and during the divorce proceedings it was discovered that the wife’s signature on the mortgage document was forged and that the wife had no knowledge of the mortgage document. The law partner’s wife filed a bar complaint against the respondent attorney in another state, and the respondent attorney admitted to the notarization, but pointed out that the wife was not his client, nor was she the client of his firm.

On January 14, 2013, an attorney licensed in Alabama and another state received a private reprimand for violating Rule 7.2(e), Ala. R. Prof. C. In August of 2012, the respondent attorney and his law firm ran advertisements in multiple newspapers stating multiple nursing homes were being investigated for abuse and neglect allegations and that his firm was representing clients in these and similar matters. The respondent attorney violated Rule 7.2(e), Ala. R. Prof. C., by failing to include the required disclaimer in these advertisements.

On January 11, 2013, an attorney who was admitted to practice law in Alabama, pro hac vice, received a public reprimand without general publication for violating Rules 8.1(a) and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C. In July of 2011, the attorney filed a Rule VII Application for Admission to Practice in the Alabama State Bar. On the application, the attorney denied that she had ever “been subject to any suspension proceedings”. However, in May of 2000, the attorney's status was revoked and she was suspended from practicing in another state for one year. The attorney's pro hac vice privileges had been previously revoked in another State court for ethical and professionalism violations, and the attorney failed to disclose that discipline during a conduct hearing.

On January 11, 2013, an attorney received a public reprimand without general publication for violating Rules 7.3(b)(1)(ii) and 8.4(a), Ala. R. Prof. C. In March of 2012, a complaint was filed against the attorney by a bankruptcy attorney alleging that the attorney had sent two improper solicitation letters to the attorney’s clients, offering to represent the clients in a lawsuit. Specifically, the solicitation letters were mailed to the clients prior to them being served with notice of the lawsuit filed against them, and prior to the passage of seven days from the date of service.

On January 10, 2013, an attorney received a private reprimand for a violation of Rule 1.8(e)(3), Ala. R. Prof. C. The respondent attorney was admitted pro hac vice to another state and received discipline in the form of a private reprimand from that state's Supreme Court, Committee on Professional Responsibility. During the course of representing a client in a personal injury action, the respondent attorney’s firm provided financial assistance to a client to meet basic living expenses on a recurring monthly basis, which was not “emergency financial assistance” as allowed by Rule 1.8(e)(3), Ala. R. Prof. C. [Rule 25a]

An attorney was disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Alabama effective January 10, 2013, 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 accepting the attorney's consent to disbarment, which was based upon his acknowledgement that there were currently pending investigations involving allegations that the attorney, after accepting clients’ cases, did little or no work in the matters and would not communicate with his clients, violations of Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.4(b), 3.4(c), 1.15, 1.16(d), 8.1(b), 8.4(a) and 8.4(g), Ala. R. Prof. C., which, if proven, would likely result in serious discipline by the Bar, to include disbarment.

On January 8, 2013, an attorney was summarily suspended from the practice of law in the State of Alabama pursuant to Rule 20(a), Alabama Rules of Disciplinary Procedure, by order of the Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama State Bar. The Disciplinary Commission found that the attorney's continued practice of law is causing or is likely to cause immediate and serious injury to his clients or to the public.