In a disciplinary matter involving allegations against five law firm attorneys, a consent order of discipline of one of the attorneys for trust account issues and misrepresentations to the North Carolina State Bar was imposed in a matter that began with an audit

Despite repeated requests from the State Bar on seven occasions between May 2015 through June 2016 pursuant to the random audit, N. Clayton did not provide the requested trust account reconciliation. It appears that a firm employee at the time may have intercepted one or more of the State Bar’s communications to N. Clayton, but during this time N. Clayton remained aware of the requests she had received and that she had not provided the requested reconciliation.

And the eventual response did more harm

By covering the print dates on reconciliation documents she provided to the State Bar and by making misrepresentations in the April and May 2017 letters regarding when the three-way reconciliation forms had been completed, N. Clayton created the risk that the State Bar would be misled regarding the nature and timing of reconciliations of the firm’s trust account, and posing potential harm to the State Bar’s system of self-regulation, the profession, and the administration of justice in this disciplinary matter.

The attorney had a spotless record and other mitigation

When the firm’s bookkeeper of over 20 years became ill and then passed away, N. Clayton took the initiative to begin monitoring the trust accounting for the firm. At no time did any of the other partners or attorneys with the firm take the initiative to handle the trust accounting matters, and at no time did any partner seek to assist N. Clayton with assuring the firm’s compliance with Rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Mitigation

In April 2015, less than a month after the random audit, N. Clayton’s five-year-old daughter was the victim of kidnapping and indecent liberties by a seventeen-year-old male who lived in the same neighborhood. Criminal charges were prosecuted against the perpetrator…

The investigative and prosecutorial process imposed significant strain upon N. Clayton and her family, as did ongoing harassment from the perpetrator’s family in the neighborhood. This resulted in significant physical and mental health issues for N. Clayton. The criminal case was resolved in the summer of 2016 and the harassment ceased with entry of a restraining order in April 2017. These circumstances were present throughout the time period of the conduct at issue in this matter.

…during the spring of 2017, N. Clayton’s preexisting medical conditions involving Multiple Sclerosis and migraines were exacerbated due to the stress from the events related to her daughter, requiring additional medical treatment and prescription medications.

Notwithstanding the pressures of that process and the other mental health mitigation

The Hearing Panel finds that the only sanction in this case that can adequately protect the public is an active suspension of Defendant N. Clayton’s license for a period of time.

The sanction is a four-year suspension. The attorney may seek reinstatement after six months.

The other four matters apparently are pending a late June hearing, (Mike Frisch)