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Myrna I. Contreras (WSBA No. 15181, admitted 1985), of Bellevue, was disbarred, effective May 27, 2011, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following approval of a stipulation. Ms. Contreras affirmatively admitted that if the matter were to proceed to a public hearing, there is a substantial likelihood the Bar Association could prove by a clear preponderance of the evidence the facts and misconduct, and that proof of such misconduct would suffice to result in disbarment, but did not affirmatively admit to the facts and misconduct herein. This discipline is based on conduct involving trust account irregularities, conversion of client funds, failure to protect clients’ interests, dishonesty, acts which reflect disregard for the rule of law, and violations of the Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct.
According to the stipulation:
Trust Accounts: Ms. Contreras was a solo practitioner who practiced primarily in family and personal injury law. She maintained a trust account at one bank and, in June 2008, opened a second trust account at a different bank. Ms. Contreras personally made all deposits and withdrawals from her trust accounts and maintained all trust account records. On 10 occasions between June 2005 and July 2007, checks issued from one trust account, ranging from $500 to $5,115.44, were paid against insufficient funds resulting in negative balances. On seven occasions between December 2005 and January 2008, checks issued from one trust account, ranging from $800 to $4,670, were dishonored and returned due to insufficient funds. Ms. Contreras did not report any of these overdrafts to the Association. Between June 2005 and February 2009,Ms. Contreras failed to maintain complete or accurate records on one or both of her trust accounts. On several occasions, Ms. Contreras withdrew funds from her trust account by cash withdrawals without identifying a client matter for the withdrawals, converted client funds to her own use, and allowed substantial shortages of client funds, ranging from $19,811.99 to $160,436.88, in one of her two trust accounts.
Conversion of Client Funds: Ms. Contreras converted funds to her own use by not depositing checks into her trust account, by paying herself in excess of what she earned, and by repeatedly using funds of one client to pay the obligations of another. Between November 2005 and January 2009, Ms. Contreras converted funds belonging to at least eight different clients, ranging between $845 and $26,508.57, in order to pay disbursements to other clients or pay herself. The disbursements often left Ms. Contreras’s trust account with negative balances.
Non-Cooperation: In April 2007, the Bar Association opened a grievance against Ms. Contreras based on two overdrafts in one of her trust accounts. During the investigation of the grievance, Ms. Contreras failed to fully respond to the Association’s requests for information or records and failed to produce all of the information requested. During six depositions in which she was subpoenaed by the Bar Association, Ms. Contreras gave false testimony and produced false and misleading records, including a fabricated “Transmittal Memo.”
Client Matters: In March 2008, Client A hired Ms. Contreras to represent him in a paternity case and paid her a $3,000 flat fee. Client A discharged Ms. Contreras the next month and hired another lawyer to take over his case. On several occasions, Client A and his new lawyer asked Ms. Contreras for an accounting and refund. She did not provide either until after Client A filed a grievance against her. In January 2009, Ms. Contreras issued a check for $3,000 to Client A from her trust account using settlement funds she received from another client’s settlement to fund the check.
In September 2009, Client B hired Ms. Contreras to represent her in her dissolution and paid an advance fee of $1,500 by check. Ms. Contreras did not deposit the advance fee to a trust account, but instead negotiated the check for cash before she had earned any of the fees. A week after hiring her, Client B discharged Ms. Contreras and requested a refund. Although Ms. Contreras agreed to refund the advance fee, she did not do so. Client B filed a small claims action and obtained a judgment against Ms. Contreras in the amount of $1,573. Client B also filed a grievance against Ms. Contreras, who failed to submit any response. The Bar Association served Ms. Contreras with a subpoena for deposition. During the deposition, Ms. Contreras testified that she planned to refund Client B’s money the next day, but did not do so. Instead, she refunded her $690 on March 20, 2010; $500 on March 21, 2010; and $390 on March 23, 2010.
Ms. Contreras’s conduct violated former RPC 1.14(a), requiring that all funds of clients paid to a lawyer be deposited into one or more identifiable interest-bearing trust accounts and maintained pursuant to the Rules; former RPC 1.14(b)(3) and current RPC 1.15A(h)(2), requiring a lawyer to keep complete records pursuant to the Rules; former RPC 1.14(b)(4) and current RPC 1.15A(f), requiring a lawyer to promptly pay or deliver to the client or third person the property which the client or third person is entitled to receive; RPC 1.15A(b), prohibiting a lawyer from using, converting, borrowing, or pledging client or third-person property for the lawyer’s own use; RPC 1.15A(h)(3), requiring a lawyer to provide written notice to his or her clients before withdrawing earned fees from his or her trust account; RPC 1.15A(h)(5), requiring that all withdrawals from a trust account be made only to a named payee and not to cash; RPC 1.15A(h)(6), requiring trust account records to be reconciled as often as bank statements are generated or at least quarterly; RPC 1.15A(h)(8), prohibiting disbursements on behalf of a client or third person from exceeding the funds of that person on deposit; RPC 1.15B, requiring a lawyer to maintain current trust account records and listing, at minimum, what the records must include; RPC 1.16(d), requiring a lawyer, upon termination of representation, to take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled and refunding any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred; RPC 8.4(b), prohibiting a lawyer from committing a criminal act (here, theft) that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects; RPC 8.4(c), prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; RPC 8.4(i), prohibiting a lawyer from committing any act involving moral turpitude, or corruption, or any other act which reflects disregard for the rule of law; and RPC 8.4(l), prohibiting a lawyer from violating a duty or sanction imposed by or under the Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct in connection with a disciplinary matter.
Marsha A. Matsumoto represented the Bar Association. Kurt M. Bulmer represented Ms. Contreras. |