| Description: |
John Luke McKean (WSBA No. 13294, admitted 1983), of Moses Lake, was ordered to receive a reprimand on May 25, 2005, following a stipulation approved by a hearing officer. This discipline was based on his conduct between 1998 and 2001 involving failure to keep a client informed about the status of a matter, failure to render appropriate accounts to the client regarding distribution of client funds, and failure to supervise nonlawyer assistants.
A client hired Mr. McKean to represent him in reopening an industrial insurance claim before the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I). The client agreed to pay Mr. McKean attorney fees in the amount of 30 percent of any recovery. The fee agreement, however, was inconsistent with the initial agreement, specifying an amount of 33 1/3 percent of any recovery.
The application to reopen the claim resulted in the client receiving $34,856.69 in back time-loss compensation. Mr. McKean retained 33 1/3 percent of that award as attorney fees. The client thereafter received biweekly time-loss compensation benefits. Between September 1998 and September 1999, Mr. McKean withheld 33 1/3 percent from each of the client’s biweekly payments. The calculation of the fee paid to Mr. McKean was performed by Mr. McKean’s office staff; Mr. McKean was not aware that the client was being overcharged, but he did not make reasonable efforts to ensure that the work of his office staff was correct. In September or October 1999, Mr. McKean began charging the client 30 percent rather than 33 1/3 percent. At that point, the client had already been overcharged $1,576.18. Mr. McKean did not inform the client that he had been overcharged and that he was entitled to a refund, nor did Mr. McKean refund the difference between the fee charged and the correct amount.
In June 2001, L&I issued an order denying responsibility for the client’s injury. The client’s time-loss payments terminated, and his L&I claim was closed. Mr. McKean sought reconsideration of that decision, but it was affirmed in December 2001. Mr. McKean appealed the decision to the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, but after a hearing it was determined that the client had not suffered a compensable injury. In March 2003, Mr. McKean’s office staff filed a notice of appeal of the Board’s order in Grant County Superior Court. That filing did not comply with a statute requiring a petition for review to be filed with the Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals. As a result, the client’s claim became final and unappealable.
Mr. McKean’s conduct violated RPC 1.4, requiring a lawyer to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter; RPC 1.14(b)(3), requiring a lawyer to maintain complete records of all funds coming into the lawyer’s possession and to render appropriate accounts to the client regarding them; RPC 5.3(b), requiring a lawyer with direct supervisory authority over a nonlawyer to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the nonlawyer’s conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer; and RPC 5.3(c)(1), holding a lawyer responsible for the conduct of a nonlawyer assistant that would be a violation of the RPCs if engaged in by a lawyer in circumstances where the lawyer orders or, with the knowledge of the specific conduct, ratifies the conduct involved.
Debra Slater represented the Bar Association. Mr. McKean represented himself. Lewis W. Card was the hearing officer. |