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James L. White (WSBA No. 14132, admitted 1984), of Seattle, was disbarred, effective February 3, 2006, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following a stipulation approved by the Disciplinary Board. This discipline was based on his conduct in 2005 leading to his conviction of the crime of money laundering. James L. White is to be distinguished from James A.D. White of Seattle and James J. White of Vashon.
Mr. White was visited in his law office by a client who delivered to him a backpack containing approximately $100,000 in cash, packaged in bundles and held together by rubber bands. The currency was to be used in connection with the representation of the client. Mr. White was aware that the currency constituted proceeds derived from a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Depositing the money into a bank account would have triggered the provisions of 31 U.S.C. § 5313, a federal currency reporting requirement that requires a bank to file a report for cash deposits in excess of $10,000. In order to avoid the filing requirement, and to disguise the nature and source of the funds, Mr. White took the backpack containing the cash to his residence, where he kept it hidden. Thereafter, he expended the money in a variety of ways intended to further conceal and disguise the criminally derived nature and source of the funds, including delivering $20,000 in cash to another lawyer as a fee for that lawyer's representation of a co-conspirator in the client's case. Mr. White did not maintain records of receipt or expenditures of the funds.
In July 2005, Mr. White pleaded guilty in federal district court to one count of money laundering, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(b)(i) and (ii).
Mr. White's conduct violated RPC 8.4(b), prohibiting a lawyer from committing a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects; RPC 8.4(c), prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; and RPC 8.4(i), prohibiting a lawyer from committing any act involving moral turpitude, or corruption, or any unjustified act of assault or other act that reflects disregard for the rule of law, whether the same be committed in the course of his or her conduct as a lawyer, or otherwise, and whether the same constitutes a felony or misdemeanor or not.
Christine Gray represented the Bar Association. David Allen represented Mr. White. |