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Uche Humphrey Umuolo (WSBA No. 24762, admitted 1995), of Phoenix, Arizona, was suspended for two years, effective December 23, 2004, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following a stipulation approved by the Disciplinary Board. This discipline was based on his conduct in 2002 involving failure to maintain client funds in a trust account, failure to maintain complete records of client funds in his possession, and commingling his own funds with client funds.
In 2002, Mr. Umuolo represented a client in a dissolution of marriage proceeding. In May 2002, the court entered a temporary order directing that the client move out of the family home. The court also ordered the client's spouse to pay the client $1,100 as a reimbursement for moving expenses, to pay Mr. Umuolo $1,000 as court-awarded attorney fees, and to pay $1,500 to Mr. Umuolo's trust account to be used for the client's future moving expenses.
On June 5, 2002, anticipating the receipt of the checks, Mr. Umuolo advanced to the client $950 in cash from Mr. Umuolo's own funds. On June 6, 2002, Mr. Umuolo received three checks from opposing counsel in payment of the ordered sums. Mr. Umuolo immediately gave the $1,100 check to the client; he deposited the remaining checks into his trust account.
At the time, Mr. Umuolo did not maintain any personal bank account; he used his trust account for all of his business and personal transactions, commingling his own funds with client funds. Mr. Umuolo maintained no check register for his trust account, nor did he maintain any client ledgers, nor did he prepare reconciliations of the bank statements. Mr. Umuolo relied on his memory to keep track of client funds in the account. At the time of the June 6, 2002, transactions, Mr. Umuolo knew that $550 of the $1,500 check he had deposited into his trust account belonged to the client.
On June 16, 2002, the client died. Mr. Umuolo did not disburse the $550 in his trust account to the client or to anyone else on the client's behalf. Mr. Umuolo failed thereafter to maintain the $550 in his trust account, which, in August 2002, had a negative balance.
In September 2002, opposing counsel requested an accounting of the $1,500 that had earlier been paid for anticipated future moving expenses. Mr. Umuolo responded that the amount that had been released to the client was privileged information and could not be revealed. Mr. Umuolo failed at that point to review his trust account and ascertain whether the former client's $550 was being maintained in his trust account.
In July 2003, following a deposition of Mr. Umuolo taken in connection with the disciplinary investigation, Mr. Umuolo paid to the former client's spouse the $550 that should have been maintained in Mr. Umuolo's trust account.
Mr. Umuolo's conduct violated RPC 1.14(a), requiring all funds of clients paid to a lawyer to be deposited in an interest-bearing trust account, and prohibiting funds belonging solely to the lawyer from being deposited therein; and RPC 1.14(b)(3), requiring a lawyer to maintain complete records of all funds coming into the possession of the lawyer and to render appropriate accounts to the client regarding them.
Randy V. Beitel represented the Bar Association. Kurt M. Bulmer represented Mr. Umuolo. Michael J. Pettit was the hearing officer. |