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Thomas J. Brothers (WSBA No. 9653, admitted 1980), of Everett, has been suspended for three months pursuant to a stipulation approved by the Disciplinary Board on September 20, 1999 and by the Supreme Court on December 6, 1999. The discipline is based on his failure to properly handle client funds and trust accounts.
Matter 1: In 1992, Mr. Brothers represented a brother and sister, the only known heirs of their father’s estate. The estate was worth more than $400,000, consisting of securities and other property in Washington and a partial interest in real estate in Switzerland. Additionally, the father may have had an illegitimate child in Switzerland. Mr. Brothers told the clients that estate costs usually end up around three percent of the estate assets, but could be higher if the matter was complicated. Mr. Brothers did not set a specific fee and did not explain the basis for his fee in writing.
In October 1992, Mr. Brothers established a Shearson Lehman Brothers account (Shearson account) to be funded by estate assets. The clients and Mr. Brothers were listed on the account as having check signatory authority. Mr. Brothers listed his office address as the account address and did not designate this as a trust account. During 1993, Mr. Brothers obtained $22,000 in fees by writing six separate checks against the Shearson account. The clients approved these fees by telephone.
In 1994, Mr. Brothers traveled to Switzerland for a week to resolve the partial real estate interest and attempt to locate the illegitimate child. The clients indicated they authorized the trip, so long as the fee for the entire case did not exceed $25,000.
In the fall of 1994, Mr. Brothers obtained $35,000 in fees by writing four checks on the Shearson account. He did not keep time records or provide any invoices to the clients. He also wrote a $1,704 check to pay for his personal credit card. In November 1994, the clients realized they had not been receiving monthly statements on the Shearson account and requested copies from Shearson. When the clients received copies of the account statements, they notified Mr. Brothers that they disputed his fees. The clients contacted the Bar Association in April 1995. In November 1995, at Disciplinary Counsel’s suggestion, Mr. Brothers returned $25,000 to the Shearson account and reimbursed the $1,704.
From 1992 through 1994, Mr. Brothers made several disbursements from the Shearson account, including a $103,000 disbursement. He did not maintain records of these transactions. WSBA auditors traced these disbursements to other accounts in the clients’ names.
Matter 2. Between July 1994 and January 1996, Mr. Brothers maintained some client funds in a business account instead of an IOLTA account. These funds accumulated $529.67 in interest that was not remitted to the Legal Foundation of Washington. Additionally, in 1996, Mr. Brothers’ trust account contained an unidentified balance of $7,176. Mr. Brothers determined that $4,625 of this money belonged to a business venture separate from his law practice and the remaining $1,200 belonged to the estate clients. In 1999, Mr. Brothers reimbursed the estate. On seven occasions Mr. Brothers paid funds out of the client trust account in excess of the amount that the particular client had deposited. In all of these instances, sufficient funds were ultimately deposited.
The stipulation in this matter required that Mr. Brothers pay restitution. He paid $529.67 to the Legal Foundation of Washington as interest that should have accumulated in an IOLTA account, $1,200 in attorney’s fees to the estate clients’ current lawyer, and formally withdrew all claims to the $25,000 returned to the clients’ Shearson account.
Mr. Brothers’ conduct violated RPC 1.5(b), requiring that lawyers communicate to the client the basis or rate of the lawyers fee and the factors involved in determining the charges for legal services; and RPC 1.14, requiring that client funds be placed in a trust account, that the lawyer only remove funds to which he is entitled, and that the lawyer maintain complete records of all funds, properties and securities coming into the lawyer’s possession.
Christine Gray represented the Bar Association. Mr. Brothers represented himself.
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