One Suspended; Four Reprimanded

Four attorneys who had been charged with misconduct have accepted a reprimand from the North Carolina State Bar.

Each had their own attorney

Jennifer A. Porter represented Plaintiff, the North Carolina State Bar. Defendant Jerry B. Clayton was represented by Alan M. Schneider. Defendant Robert W. Myrick was represented by F. Lane Williamson. Defendant Robert D. McClanahan was represented by Amos G. Tyndall. Defendant Ronald G. Coulter was represented by Douglas J. Brocker.

A fifth attorney handled a random bar audit that led to findings of a number of decfciencies.

The four agreed that a responsive letter from the firm was inaccurate

N. Clayton was the source of the information for the statements made in the May 26, 2017 letter.

The statement made by Defendants in the May 26, 2017 letter that the reconciliations provided to the State Bar had been conducted between the 5th and 10th of each  month during the pertinent time period was inaccurate. N. Clayton had admitted she had not even started using the three-way reconciliation fonn until after November 2016, and the supporting documents dated March 2017 containing her reconciliation notes indicate the reconciliations provided to the State Bar were done in March 2017…

N. Clayton was the attorney with the firm who worked with the firm’s staff on the management and reconciliation ofthe trust account.

In multi-lawyer firms, although one attorney may be designated to oversee management and reconciliation of the trust account utilized by the firm’s attorneys, all attorneys in the firm who deposit entrusted funds in the trust account remain professionally responsible for the administration of the trust account in compliance with Rule 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

Here

In light of the notice from the State Bar of integrity-based concerns arising from the materials they knew N. Clayton had compiled and produced to the State Bar, Defendants J. Clayton, R. Myrick, R. McClanahan, and R. Coulter should not have continued to rely upon N. Clayton’s representations without substantively verifying the information she was providing to them.

Each of the attorneys had a good reputation and no prior discipline.

N. Clayton was suspended for four years with a possible stay after six months.  (Mike Frisch)