Cut In Half

The Nevada Supreme Court affirmed findings of misconduct but halved the proposed sanction of the Northern Nevada Disciplinary Board hearing panel

The admitted facts establish that Novi violated the above referenced rules by engaging in the following conduct. Novi failed to perform legal services on behalf of two clients, communicate with them, or refund the fees they had paid. Additionally, Novi failed to submit a proposed order to the district court after he was ordered to do so and after he was ordered to show cause why he should not be held in contempt for failing to do so. At the contempt hearing, Novi was late and he asserted that he did not submit the proposed order because of a disagreement with opposing counsel on the language of the order, but opposing counsel testified at the disciplinary hearing that Novi never provided a proposed order to him. Additionally, Novi failed to appear on behalf of a criminal client on two occasions and was unreachable, causing the district court to appoint a public defender for Novi’s client. Lastly, Novi failed to respond to the State Bar’s requests for information regarding the grievances.

While noting significant client harm

Considering all the factors, we agree with the hearing panel that Novi’s misconduct warrants suspension, but we disagree that it warrants a four-year suspension. We conclude that a two-year suspension is sufficient to serve the purpose of attorney discipline—to protect the public, the courts, and the legal profession, not to punish the attorney.

The court has de novo review authority of proposed sanctions.

The case is Matter of Discipline of Michael Novi. (Mike Frisch)