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Lori D. Hansen (WSBA No. 13129, admitted 1983), of Issaquah, was disbarred, effective September 15, 2011, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following approval of a stipulation. This discipline is based on conduct involving failure to act diligently in a client matter, failure to communicate, unreasonable charges, conflicts of interest, conversion of client funds, trust account irregularities, failure to protect clients’ interests, offering false evidence to a tribunal, making a false statement of material fact in connection with a disciplinary matter, and dishonest conduct.
Starting in or about June 2010, Ms. Hansen manifested a gambling addiction problem and used funds from her trust account, some of which belonged to clients, for gambling. There is evidence that her gambling addiction was also impacted by her use of a prescription drug, of which a possible side effect is compulsive behavior. In mid-August 2010, the bank closed Ms. Hansen’s general business account and savings account because both accounts were overdrawn due to her gambling. In September 2010, Ms. Hansen’s spouse removed her as a signatory from a joint account due to her gambling.
Between approximately August 2008 and March 2011, Ms. Hansen:
• Converted client funds, ranging between $400 and $10,000, in four different matters. She used the client funds for gambling or for other purposes that were unrelated to the clients’ matters. The clients in two matters paid Ms. Hansen advance fees, which she
knowingly deposited into her general account and spent;
• Used her trust account as a personal account for four months, commingling personal funds with client funds, and received 22 overdraft notices from the bank reflecting that the account was overdrawn;
• Failed to maintain a check register, client ledgers, or client ledger reconciliations for her trust account, and failed to properly identify and safeguard clients’ funds;
• Failed to diligently represent clients in two matters, which included failing to file a petition for child support modification and failing to respond to discovery requests and a motion to compel discovery;
• Failed to communicate with clients and falsely told one client that she had filed a petition when she had not done so;
• Failed to return unearned fees to a client;
• Represented two individuals with concurrent conflicts of interest in a matter, and falsely represented in pleadings that she
was representing only one of the individuals; and represented a client when Ms. Hansen’s financial interest conflicted with that of the client; and
• Failed to cooperate with the Bar Association’s investigation of her trust account overdrafts, provided false and misleading
testimony regarding her trust account, and, in January 2009, submitted a false trust account declaration.
Ms. Hansen’s conduct violated RPC 1.3, requiring a lawyer to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client; RPC 1.4(a), requiring a lawyer to keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter; RPC 1.5(a), prohibiting a lawyer from making an agreement for, charging, or collecting an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses; RPC 1.7(a), prohibiting a lawyer from representing a client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest; 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(c), requiring a lawyer to hold property
of clients and third persons separate from the lawyer’s own property; RPC 1.15A(h)(1) and (2), prohibiting funds belonging to the lawyer from being deposited or retained in a trust account, except as allowed by the rules, and requiring the lawyer to keep complete trust account records; RPC 1.15A(h)(8), prohibiting trust account disbursements on behalf of a client or third person from exceeding the funds of that person on deposit; RPC 1.15B(a), requiring a lawyer to maintain current trust account records; 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 refunding any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred; RPC 3.3(a), prohibiting a lawyer from making a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal or offering evidence that the lawyer knows to be false; RPC 8.1(a) and (b), prohibiting a lawyer, in connection with a disciplinary matter, from knowingly making a false statement of material fact or failing to disclose a fact necessary to correct a misapprehension known by a person to have arisen in a matter; RPC 8.4(c), prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; 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.
Jonathan H. Burke represented the Bar Association. Ms. Hansen represented herself. |