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Cite as In re Lancefield, 19 DB Rptr 247 (2005)
files. Accordingly, the Accused could not know with any precision when he had
earned funds in the trust account and how much he had earned.
7.
On July 27, 2004, the Accused issued a check from the trust account when
there were insufficient funds in the account. The bank honored the check, thereby
drawing on the funds of one or more clients without authorization. After the
overdraft, the account had a negative balance of $10.23, which the Accused rectified
following notification.
Violations
8.
The Accused admits that, by engaging in the conduct described in this
stipulation, he failed to maintain client funds in an identifiable trust account and
failed to maintain complete records of all client funds and property in his possession
and render appropriate accounts regarding them in violation of DR 9-101(A) and DR
9-101(C)(3) of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Sanction
9.
The Accused and the Bar agree that in fashioning an appropriate sanction in
this case, the Disciplinary Board should consider the ABA Standards for Imposing
Lawyer Sanctions (hereinafter “Standards”). The Standards require that the Accused’s
conduct be analyzed by considering the following factors: (1) the ethical duty
violated; (2) the lawyer’s mental state; (3) the actual or potential injury; and (4) the
existence of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
A. Duty Violated. The Accused violated his duty to his clients to preserve
and account for client property. Standards, § 4.1. The most important ethical duties
are those obligations which a lawyer owes to clients. Standards, at 5.
B. Mental State. The Accused acted knowingly, in that he acted with
conscious awareness of the nature of attendant circumstances of his conduct but
without the conscious objective or purpose to accomplish a particular result.
Standards, at 7. The Accused was aware that he was not taking adequate measures
to properly handle client funds and his trust account generally, but he did not intend
to draw on any funds prior to his entitlement to those funds.
C. Injury. The Accused’s clients were potentially injured by his failure to
properly maintain or account for their funds. However, the Bar does not assert that
any client suffered actual injury.
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