“Nearly Ever Wrong Possible”

The Iowa Supreme Court has suspended an attorney for one year as a result of serious issues uncovered during an audit of his trust account.

The attorney is a solo practitioner admitted in 1973.

The audit revealed that his trust accounts were a mess.

The problem was exacerbated by the failure to pay taxes, several years in which he had falsely certified that his accounts were compliant with ethical obligations and failure to cooperate with the bar process.

Notably, the court rejected charges that he had improperly used a trade name.

The court

Here, Cross mismanaged the trust account, commingled client funds with his own, failed to deposit unearned fees and expenses into the trust account, withdrew fees and expenses before they were earned, failed to maintain proper records, and failed to provide clients with contemporaneous written notifications and accountings of withdrawals from the trust account. These violations persisted for over four years. As the auditor aptly put it in the audit report, “Cross completely lost control and accountability for client funds deposited in his trust account” and “committed nearly every wrong possible in handling client funds and managing an attorney’s trust account.”

He must enter into agreements to pay off his tax obligations to secure reinstatement. (Mike Frisch)