Suspended Lawyer of the Month for February 2011
What do you do when a lawyer who has previously been suspended from the practice of law ignores the suspension and continues working as a lawyer?
That's just one of the questions that is raised by the disciplinary history of California lawyer Walter James Roberts IV.
Here, in its entirety, is the State Bar of California's summary of the one-year suspension that was imposed in May 2010 on Mr. Roberts:
WALTER JAMES ROBERTS IV [#225339], 47, of Rancho Cucamonga was suspended for two years, stayed, placed on three years of probation with a one-year actual suspension and he was ordered to take the MPRE and comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. The order took effect May 2, 2010.
Roberts stipulated that while suspended in 2005 and 2007 he practiced law. He also disobeyed a court order and by failing to disclose his status to his clients, he committed acts of moral turpitude.
He did not comply with probation conditions attached to previous disciplinary orders, including a requirement that he develop a law office management plan, submit quarterly probation reports on time and keep his address current with the State Bar. He also submitted quarterly probation reports that contained misstatements.
In mitigation, Roberts cooperated with the bar’s investigation.
The State Bar's conduct in this case is more perplexing than Mr. Roberts. It's not hard to understand why a suspended lawyer might resist telling clients that they have been suspended. But why would you suspend someone who ignored two prior suspensions and submitted probation reports that contained misstatements? It's also a bit ironic that someone who has at best undermined the effectiveness of prior discipline seems in this instance to be credited for cooperating with the Bar's investigation.
Given that Mr. Roberts didn't submit quarterly reports on time, you would think that this would be fairly obvious within a few days of the deadline. I certainly hope that the State Bar will be especially vigilant in monitoring Mr. Robert's compliance with his current suspension.
Attorney Discipline • California Lawyers • Suspended Lawyer of the Month • Permalink
