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Jeremiah Spencer Styles (WSBA No. 49543, admitted 2015) of Edmonds, WA, was suspended for three years, effective 6/11/2025, by order of the Washington Supreme Court. Henry Cruz acted as disciplinary counsel. Pedro Melesio and John C. Versnel III represented Respondent. Franz Laurent de Cannon was the hearing officer. Jeff Capell was the settlement hearing officer.
The lawyer’s conduct violated the following Rules of Professional Conduct: 1.16 (Declining or Terminating Representation), 1.2 (Scope of Representation and Allocation of Authority Between Client and Lawy, 1.3 (Diligence), 1.4 (Communication), 1.5 (Fees), 3.2 (Expediting Litigation), 3.3 (Candor Toward the Tribunal), 5.1 (Responsibilities of a Partner or Supervisory Lawyer), 5.3 (Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants), 8.1 (Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters), 8.4(c) (Dishonesty, Fraud, Deceit or Misrepresentation) and 8.4(d) (Prejudicial to the Admin of Justice).
Styles stipulated to suspension for: (1) failing to appear at a hearing regarding an application for asylum in removal proceedings, failing to file a motion to change the venue of the clients’ removal proceedings, and/or failing to take other action to protect the clients’ interests; (2) failing to inform the clients of the status of their matter so that they could make arrangements to appear at their hearing; (3) making false statements to the immigration court in two clients’ matters; (4) making false statements to ODC during the grievance investigation; (5) failing to correct the errors in an asylum application and/or failing to review the clients’ asylum application prior to the individual hearing; (6) purporting to represent a client in an immigration matter without authority; (7) failing to timely file pleadings, failing to timely seek prosecutorial discretion, failing to timely initiate biometrics processing, failing to file a motion for administrative closure, failing to file required documents in the immigrant visa matter and/or failing to complete the immigrant visa matter, filing pleadings with erroneous information, submitting a deficient prosecutorial discretion request, submitting the biometrics initiation request at the wrong location, and/or failing to take other action to ensure a client’s removal and/or immigrant visa matter proceeded; (8) failing to inform a client of respondent’s failure to file the cancellation of removal application and/or request for voluntary departure, failing to promptly inform the client of the removal order and/or the motion to reconsider denial, and/or failing to promptly inform the client of the status of the immigrant visa matter; (9) collecting a fee for work that was of no benefit to the client and/or failing to refund unearned fees after the termination of representation; (10) failing to timely complete biometrics processing for clients in their asylum matter and/or failing to comply with the immigration court’s order; (11) failing to make reasonable efforts to ensure that Styles Law had in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that all lawyers at Styles Law conformed to the RPC, and/or failing to make reasonable efforts to ensure that Dennaoui’s conduct conformed to the RPC, and (12) failing to make reasonable efforts to ensure that Styles Law had in effect measures giving reasonable assurance that the conduct of all nonlawyer staff at Styles Law was compatible with respondent’s professional obligations, and/or failing to make reasonable efforts to supervise nonlawyer staff member’s handling of a client matter to ensure that their conduct was compatible with respondent’s professional obligations.
Disciplinary Board Order Approving Stipulation; Stipulation to Suspension; and Washington Supreme Court Order.
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