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William R. Joice (WSBA No. 19944, admitted 1990), of Seattle, was suspended for one year, effective April 10, 2006, by the Washington State Supreme Court following a stipulation approved by the Disciplinary Board. This discipline was based on his conduct in three matters involving failure to abide by a client’s decisions concerning the objectives of representation, failure to keep a client advised about the status of a matter, failure to return unearned fees, failure to inform clients that he could no longer represent them, and failure to withdraw from representation when he could no longer represent clients. [Prior to the entry of the suspension order, Mr. Joice had resigned in lieu of disbarment, effective February 24, 2006.]
Matter 1: Mr. Joice represented a client with a claim against a contractor. Mr. Joice obtained a judgment against the contractor and the contractor’s bonding company in Snohomish County Superior Court. In the meantime, Mr. Joice learned that other claims had been filed against the contractor’s bond in King County Superior Court, and that the bonding company had surrendered the bond to the King County Superior Court. Mr. Joice and his client disagreed as to the best strategy for collecting the judgment. Mr. Joice advised the client he would have to share the bond proceeds with the other claimants on some pro rata basis, while the client insisted that Mr. Joice negotiate for a full recovery of his judgment from the bonding company because he had filed his claim first. The negotiations with the bonding company were not successful, and the other claimants filed a motion to King County Superior Court for disbursement of the bond proceeds. Because Mr. Joice disagreed with his client as to the strategy to best pursue the claim, he failed to represent his client with respect to the motion. Subsequently, the client contacted the King County Clerk’s office and learned that the entire amount of the proceeds had been disbursed to the other claimants.
Matter 2: In September 2004, Mr. Joice was hired by a client to represent him in a criminal matter. The client signed a written fee agreement providing for a $2,500 “Non-Refundable” flat fee for all services and paid Mr. Joice in full. Prior to November 2004, Mr. Joice’s representation consisted of only advice to the client and obtaining two hearing continuances. Mr. Joice was arrested in November 2004. After the arrest, Mr. Joice was unable to provide further representation. Mr. Joice did not advise the client that he no longer represented him, did not arrange for other counsel to represent him, and made no accounting or refund to the client of the unearned fees.
Matter 3: In September 2004, Mr. Joice was hired by a client to represent him on a domestic-violence charge. The client signed a written fee agreement providing for a $1,200 “Non-Refundable” flat fee for all services and paid Mr. Joice $600 of the fee. Prior to Mr. Joice’s arrest in November 2004, his representation of the client consisted only of obtaining a continuance of a hearing. Mr. Joice did not advise the client that he no longer represented him, did not arrange for the client to obtain other counsel, and made no accounting or refund to the client of the unearned fees.
Mr. Joice’s conduct violated RPC 1.2(a), requiring that a lawyer abide by a client’s decisions concerning the objectives of representation; RPC 1.3, requiring a lawyer to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client; RPC 1.4, requiring a lawyer to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter, promptly comply with reasonable requests for information, and explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation; RPC 1.5(a), requiring a lawyer’s fee to be reasonable; RPC 1.15(a), requiring that a lawyer withdraw from representation if the lawyer’s physical or mental condition materially impairs his ability to represent the client; and RPC 1.15(d), requiring a lawyer to take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled, and refunding any advance payment of fee that has not been earned.
Randy V. Beitel represented the Bar Association. Mr. Joice represented himself. |