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Rosemary Kamb (WSBA No. 16532, admitted 1986), of Mount Vernon, was suspended for one year, effective March 9, 2010, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following approval of stipulation. This discipline was based on conduct in two matters involving trust account irregularities, charging unreasonable fees, representing a person without the authority of that person, making false statements to a tribunal, engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, and failing to communicate and explain billing procedures.
Matter No. 1: In June 2004, Ms. Kamb was hired by Clients S and L to file a guardianship action to protect their mother because of concerns they had about the care provided by their stepfather. On June 24, 2004, a guardian ad litem (GAL) was appointed. The GAL submitted a report in early September recommending the appointment of the stepfather as guardian and a hearing was set for later in the month.
On September 16, 2004, the mother died, making the guardianship action moot. Clients S and L then hired Ms. Kamb to probate their mother’s estate. A petition to probate the mother’s estate was filed in October 2004. The mother’s will named Client S and the stepfather as co-personal representatives. Since both were adversaries in the prior guardianship, the court did not initially enter an order appointing a personal representative for the mother’s estate, but instead appointed a temporary personal representative.
On October 8, 2004, Client S gave Ms. Kamb a Social Security check issued to her mother, which Ms. Kamb deposited into her IOLTA account. Ten days later, Ms. Kamb withdrew the sum from her IOLTA account without the knowledge or authority of clients S or L and deposited it into her general account. On November 15, 2004, Client S gave Ms. Kamb money that she found among her mother’s possessions to hold for the estate. The money was deposited into Ms. Kamb’s IOLTA account. The following year, Ms. Kamb withdrew the money from her IOLTA account without the knowledge or authority of Clients S and L and deposited it into her general account.
In the guardianship matter, Ms. Kamb agreed to an order to pay the GAL her fees. In December 2004, Ms. Kamb and the GAL had a dispute over whether the fees would be paid out of a blocked account. The GAL made a motion in the probate proceeding for payment of her fees from the blocked account. Ms. Kamb filed an objection to the request. The GAL filed a declaration in response. In January 2005, the court granted the fees requested by the GAL.
On February 18, 2005, Ms. Kamb filed a motion to strike the GAL’s declaration as untimely, as it had been filed the day before the hearing. The motion was set for early March and eventually scheduled to be heard on April 1, 2005. Clients S and L terminated Ms. Kamb prior to the April 1 hearing and hired new counsel. Ms. Kamb signed a Notice of Withdrawal and Substitution, effective March 28, 2005, and acknowledged new substitute counsel. Prior to the April 1, 2005, hearing, new counsel sent a letter to the court, the GAL, and the parties informing them that he was withdrawing Ms. Kamb’s motion to strike. Ms. Kamb disputes whether she received the letter but was aware prior to the April 2005 hearing that new counsel sought to cancel the hearing.
On April 1, 2005, Ms. Kamb appeared in court for the motion hearing even though she no longer represented any parties in the estate matter. She presented an order granting the motion to strike the GAL’s declaration and signed it as “attorney for the estate.” The court signed the order.
In February 2005, Ms. Kamb presented Client S with two bills, one for the guardianship and one for the probate. She had not provided the clients with an accounting or bill for her services until then. Among the unreasonable fees charged in the matter, Ms. Kamb charged for time spent by staff performing clerical tasks at paralegal rates, charged for publication of notice to creditors even though the notice was never sent in for publishing, charged 7.5 hours for objecting to the GAL’s motion for payment from the blocked account, and charged for the expense of copying the file after she had been terminated.
On October 6, 2005, the probate was resolved and the court ruled that each party would be responsible for its own attorney fees. On October 11, 2005, Ms. Kamb filed a motion to pay attorney fees from the probate estate. Client S filed a response objecting to Ms. Kamb’s fees. On October 19, 2005, the court entered a final order that each party must pay their own attorney fees and costs. The issue regarding attorney fees was never resolved.
Matter No. 2: In 2000, Ms. Kamb was hired by a client to perform estate planning services. In June 2000, the client executed a revocable living trust prepared by Ms. Kamb that named the client’s son R as co-trustee of the trust. On April 24, 2006, the client hired Ms. Kamb to amend the trust naming her other son M as co-trustee instead of Son R. The client agreed to pay a flat fee to prepare the amended trust. Two days later, the client hired Ms. Kamb to assist her in the recovery of funds being held by a financial services company. Ms. Kamb charged the client a $200 hourly fee. The fee agreement did not specify the client would be charged for clerical work.
In May 2006, Son R filed a petition seeking limited guardianship for his mother. The court appointed a GAL. After Ms. Kamb learned a GAL was appointed, she advised Son M that he could remove his mother from his home. Subsequently, the mother moved out and avoided service so that the GAL’s access to her was delayed. The GAL was eventually able to interview the mother. On June 29, 2006, before the guardianship could be established, the mother was found dead on an isolated beach. In October 2006, Ms. Kamb requested that the court order her fees to be paid from the mother’s estate. Ms. Kamb submitted an affidavit with a billing statement charging $1,995 for preparation of the amended trust package. The fees sought were unreasonable in that Ms. Kamb included an additional $400 consultation fee, a $100 expedite fee, and failed to credit at least $400 received from the client. Ms. Kamb attached a second bill of $9,942.53 for legal services relating to her attempts to recover the client’s property. Among the unreasonable charges were charges for clerical tasks performed by staff, charges for non-legal services, and charges for services performed after she was terminated. The court denied her request for fees because it had no authority to award fees to her when she did not represent the client in the guardianship. In December 2006, Ms. Kamb filed two creditor’s claims in the probate of the mother’s estate. The claims were the same two bills previously submitted to the court as exhibits to her affidavit.
Ms. Kamb’s conduct violated former RPC 1.2(f), prohibiting a lawyer from acting as a lawyer for a person without the authority of the person; former RPC 1.4(a) and (b), requiring the lawyer to keep clients reasonably informed of a matter and to explain matters to the extent reasonably necessary; former RPC 1.5(a), requiring a lawyer’s fees to be reasonable; former RPC 1.14(a), requiring client funds paid to the lawyer to be deposited into a trust account; former RPC 3.3(a)(1), prohibiting a lawyer from making false statements to the tribunal; and RPC 8.4(d), prohibiting conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Francesca D’Angelo represented the Bar Association. Kurt M. Bulmer represented Ms. Kamb. William E. Fitzharris Jr. was the hearing officer.
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