Attorney’s Claim That Entrusted Funds Were Paid In Cash Rejected: Disbarment Results

An attorney found to have misappropriated a portion of the proceeds of a personal injury case settlement has been disbarred by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

The hearing committee had rejected the attorney’s story that the funds at issue had been paid in cash.

The Hearing Committee’s report, which the Board adopted, carefully explained the Hearing Committee’s reasons for discrediting Ms. Brown’s claims that she had given Mr. McGee $1650 in cash to pay Dr. Manderson and had givenMs. Gordon $1500 in cash to reflect the money owed to Dr. Randolph. With respect to Dr. Manderson, the Hearing Committee explained that Ms. Brown’s claim was uncorroborated by any records; that Ms. Brown had told Dr. Manderson’s office that she had paid the bill and that she would provide a copy of a cancelled check; that Ms. Brown never provided such a copy; that when Ms. Brown initially responded to Bar Counsel, she did not mention Mr. McGee but rather inaccurately claimed that Dr. Manderson’s office did not send a final bill until February 2010; that Mr. McGee had not appeared at the hearing and thus could not be cross-examined about the contents of the proffered affidavit; that Dr. Manderson’s office had made repeated efforts to obtain payment; and that Ms. Brown failed to respond or to pay the bill until after Ms. Gordon complained to Bar Counsel.

 With respect to Dr. Randolph, the Hearing Committee explained that Ms. Gordon testified that Ms. Brown had never given Ms. Gordon $1500 in cash to reflect the money owed to Dr. Randolph; that Ms. Brown had no records to corroborate her claim; and that Ms. Brown had made statements both to Ms. Gordon and to Bar Counsel indicating that in fact Ms. Brown had not given Ms. Gordon the money owed to Dr. Randolph.

The court also rejected the contention that disbarment was too harsh a sanction uner the circumstances.

In arguing against disbarment, Ms. Brown relies on the following mitigating circumstances: she had no prior disciplinary record; at the time she responded to the disciplinary complaint, she was confronting difficult circumstances, including a high-risk pregnancy and marital problems; she admitted that she had made mistakes; her client was not financially harmed; she ultimately paid the doctors’ bills; and witnesses testified to her good character and community involvement. We agree with the Board that these circumstances are not so extraordinary as to justify a departure from the presumptive sanction of disbarment, particularly given the aggravating circumstance that Ms. Brown showed disregard for the truth both in her testimony at the hearing and in her statements to Ms. Gordon, to Dr. Manderson’s office, and to Bar Counsel

(Mike Frisch)