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Albert M. Raines (WSBA No. 16062, admitted
1986), of Seattle, was disbarred, effective January
12, 2012, by order of the Washington State Supreme
Court following approval of a stipulation. While
not admitting to the acts of misconduct, Mr. Raines
admitted that there is a substantial likelihood the
Bar Association could prove, by a clear preponderance
of the evidence, the facts and misconduct set
forth below. This misconduct includes failing to
deposit all client funds into a trust account; failing
to maintain complete trust account records; and
engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud,
deceit, or misrepresentation. According to the
Stipulation:
Mr. Raines maintained a trust account from
which he personally made all deposits and
withdrawals, and for which he personally
maintained all records. Between September
2005 and November 2006, Mr. Raines removed
settlement proceeds, ranging from between
$280.85 and $14,238.96, relating to the settlements
of eight different clients, and used the
funds for his own purposes. In one client
matter, a Commissioner’s order specified that
Mr. Raines put the minor client’s settlement
funds into a Blocked Financial Account and
file a Receipt for the Blocked Account within
30 days of the order. Mr. Raines failed to comply
with the provision of the order. As of the date of
the stipulation, Mr. Raines had not repaid six of
the clients their settlement funds and had not
put the minor client’s settlement funds into a
blocked account as ordered by the court.
During an audit of his trust account, it was
found that Mr. Raines failed to keep adequate
or accurate books and records of his trust account.
Between September 2006 and June 2008,
Mr. Raines failed to reconcile his trust account
check register balance to the bank statement
balance or to a combined total of all client
ledger records; failed to identify on his check
account register the client, date, check number,
person from or to whom funds were received
or disbursed, or new balance after completion
of a transaction; and failed to identify on
trust account ledgers the purpose and date of
each transaction, the check number for each
disbursement, the payor or payee for each
transaction, and the new client fund balance
after each transaction.
Mr. Raines’s conduct violated former RPC
1.14(a) and current RPC 1.15A(h), requiring that
all funds of clients paid to a lawyer or law firm be
deposited into one or more identifiable interestbearing
trust accounts; current RPC 1.15A(h),
requiring a lawyer to keep complete trust account
records, reconcile trust account records as often as
bank statements are generated or at least quarterly,
reconcile the check register balance to the bank
statement balance and to the combined total of all
client ledger records, disburse funds from a trust
account only after deposits have cleared the banking
process and been collected, and use funds of a
client or third person only on behalf of that client
or third person; former RPC 1.14(b)(3) and current
RPC 1.15B(a), requiring a lawyer to maintain
complete records of all funds, securities, and other
properties of a client coming into the possession of
the lawyer and render appropriate accounts to his
or her client regarding them; current RPC 1.15B(a),
listing, at minimum, what trust account records
must contain; and RPC 8.4(c), prohibiting a lawyer
from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty,
fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
Christine Gray represented the Bar Association.
Kurt M. Bulmer represented Mr. Raines. |