| Description: |
Stephen C. Haskell (WSBA No. 7832, admitted 1977), of Spokane, has been suspended for two years by order of the Supreme Court effective September 18, 1998. The discipline is based upon his misrepresentations to clients or their insurers that he performed certain legal services actually performed by associates and that costs billed were valid charges for that client’s matter. Various insurance compa-nies hired Haskell to represent their insureds. He had bills to the insurance com-panies altered to reflect his initials and billing rate for certain tasks, such as depositions of key witnesses, in place of the initials and billing rates of the less-experienced associates who actually performed the work. He also sent status reports that indicated he performed these tasks.
One of the insurance companies had a policy of reimbursing only for coach-class airfare. Haskell flew first class on several occasions and had a phony travel voucher presented to the insurance company that reflected coach-class travel but the first-class ticket price. On other occasions, Haskell charged the insurance company for full-price fares when he actually purchased lower-priced excursion fares. He used the additional fare money to cover his or his wife’s personal travel expenses.
Haskell had long-distance telephone charges and blueprint copying expenses related to the building of his summer cabin "buried" in bills to clients whose mat-ters had no relationship to Haskell’s cabin.
Haskell’s conduct violated RPC 8.4(c), which prohibits a lawyer from engaging in acts involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, and RPC 1.4, which requires that a lawyer explain a matter to the client. His conduct in deceiving clients about who performed services and his conduct in billing the summer cabin expenses to clients also violated RPC 1.5, which requires a lawyer’s fee to be reasonable. Haskell’s fraudulent scheme to reimburse himself for unauthorized airfares and his billing of cabin expenses to clients also violated RPC 8.4(b) and RLD 1.1(a), which prohibit conduct that violates criminal laws (theft and mail fraud).
The Hearing Officer recommended Haskell be disbarred. By a vote of 10-1, members of the Disciplinary Board also recommended his disbarment. The Supreme Court reduced the sanction to a two-year suspension, citing the need for proportionality with sanctions imposed on other disciplined lawyers.
Diehl Rettig of Kennewick served as the Hearing Officer; Kurt Bulmer of Seattle represented the respondent; Disciplinary Counsel Anne Seidel and Joy McLean represented the Bar Association.
|