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John B. Jackson III (WSBA No. 5208, admitted 1973), of Bremerton, was disbarred, effective April 18, 2007, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following a stipulation approved by the Disciplinary Board. This discipline was based on his conduct in multiple matters involving unreasonable fees, trust account irregularities, commission of criminal acts, lack of diligence, failure to communicate with clients, and misrepresentation of facts.
Between December 2001 and March 2004, Mr. Jackson engaged in the following conduct that established grounds for discipline:
• Issuing 33 trust account checks disbursing funds which he was not entitled to disburse and without direction or authorization from the clients who owned the funds, thereby constituting the crime of theft in the first degree in violation of RCW 9A.56.030-040;
• Failing to account for the distribution of settlement funds and failing to promptly pay the funds to a client;
• In two matters, failing to pay or promptly pay funds that third parties were entitled to receive;
• Removing $18,605.66 from his trust account in distribution of a client settlement after having deposited only $17,000 of the client’s funds into the trust account;
• Failing to obtain release of a client’s settlement funds from the superior court registry for over nine months;
• Failing to expedite a client’s post-settlement dissolution proceeding;
• Misrepresenting to a client’s medical provider that he would reduce his fee by more than 50 percent in order to induce the medical provider to reduce her own fee;
• Failing to advise a client about the status of payments to her medical providers and the status of her settlement funds; and
• In two matters, failing to communicate and respond to the clients’ attempts to obtain information about their cases.
Mr. Jackson’s conduct violated 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; former RPC 1.14(a), requiring that all funds paid to a lawyer or law firm be deposited in one or more identifiable interest-bearing trust accounts and that no funds belonging to the lawyer or law firm be deposited therein; former RPC 1.14(b)(3), requiring a lawyer to maintain complete records of all funds, securities, and other properties of a client coming into the possession of the lawyer which the client is entitled to receive; former RPC 1.14(b)(4), requiring a lawyer to promptly pay or deliver to the client as requested by a client the funds, securities, or other properties in the possession of the lawyer which the client is entitled to receive; RPC 8.4(b), prohibiting a lawyer from committing a criminal act (here, theft) that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects; and RPC 8.4(c), prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
Christine Gray represented the Bar Association. Brett A. Purtzer represented Mr. Jackson. Kelby D. Fletcher was the hearing officer. |