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Shannon Marie McMinimee (WSBA No. 34471, admitted 2003) of Outlook, WA, was disbarred, effective 6/22/2026, by order of the Washington Supreme Court. Francisco Rodriguez acted as disciplinary counsel. Shannon Marie McMinimee represented themselves. Randolph O Petgrave III was the hearing officer.
The lawyer’s conduct violated the following Rules of Professional Conduct: 1.2 (Scope of Representation and Allocation of Authority Between Client and Lawyer, 1.3 (Diligence), 1.4 (Communication), 1.5 (Fees), 3.2 (Expediting Litigation), 3.3 (Candor Toward the Tribunal), 3.4 (Fairness to Opposing Party and Counsel), 4.1 (Truthfulness in Statements to Others), 8.1 (Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters), 8.4(b) (Criminal Act), 8.4(c) (Dishonesty, Fraud, Deceit or Misrepresentation), 8.4(d) (Prejudicial to the Admin of Justice), 8.4(j) (Violate a Court Order), 8.4(l) (ELC violation) and 8.4(n) (Unfitness to Practice Law).
The hearing officer recommended, and the court ordered, that McMinimee be disbarred from the practice of law in Washington State.
McMinimee was found to have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct by 1) representing clients on a contingent fee basis without having a written fee agreement signed by the clients which sets forth how the fee will be determined, 2) filing suit on behalf of a client without authorization to do so, 3) failing to exercise reasonable diligence and failing to make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation, including by failing to appear at a scheduling conference, failing to comply with deadlines, failing to make initial disclosures, failing to timely respond to requests for discovery, failing to timely communicate with opposing counsel and their staff, failing to timely respond to a motion to dismiss, and failing to monitor a client's age during the representation, 4) making a false statement to the court regarding Respondent's reasons for failing to attend a scheduling conference, 5) failing to timely provide initial disclosures in violation of a court order and court rule and failing to timely respond to discovery requests, 6) failing to communicate with clients regarding the status of their case, failing to inform them of discovery requests, and failing to explain developments sufficiently to allow informed decisions regarding the representation, 7) withholding information from clients regarding the status of their case and making false and misleading statements regarding the reasons for terminating the representation, 8) making false statements to disciplinary counsel in a written response to a grievance, 9) providing false deposition testimony regarding provision of a dismissal order to clients, 10) representing clients on a contingent fee basis without having a written fee agreement signed by the clients that set forth how the fee would be determined, 11) continuing to represent a client after the client reached the age of majority without obtaining authorization to do so, 12) failing to act with reasonable diligence and failing to make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation, including by failing to comply with deadlines, respond to motions, cooperate with discovery requests, timely communicate and confer with opposing counsel and staff, file required status reports, avoid scheduling conflicts, serve a pretrial statement, submit mediation materials, respond to a show cause order, file a proposed pretrial order, motions in limine, a trial brief, proposed voir dire questions and jury instructions, monitor a client's age during the representation, serve dismissal orders, and file proof of service, 13) failing to comply with deadlines established by court order and court rule and failing to comply with court orders relating to required filings and procedures, 14) failing to communicate with clients regarding the status of their case and failing to explain developments sufficiently to permit informed decisions concerning the representation, 15) withholding information from clients regarding the status of their case and making false statements regarding the reason the matter was dismissed, 16) making false statements to a mediator regarding a client's authority to act on behalf of another client, 17) providing false deposition testimony regarding actions taken during the representation, 18) representing a client on a contingent fee basis without having a written fee agreement signed by the client that set forth how the fee would be determined, 19) filing an appeal on behalf of a client without authorization to do so, 20) failing to exercise reasonable diligence in federal court litigation, including by failing to appear at a scheduling conference, make initial disclosures, cooperate with discovery demands, timely communicate with opposing counsel and staff, respond to a motion for summary judgment, and seek additional time to respond, 21) failing to timely provide initial disclosures in federal litigation, 22) failing to exercise reasonable diligence in a federal appeal, including by failing to file a mediation questionnaire, opening brief, excerpts of record, maintain a current email address with the court, and monitor the court docket, 23) failing to communicate with a client regarding the status of one or more cases and failing to explain developments sufficiently to permit informed decisions, 24) withholding information from a client regarding the status of a case, failing to disclose the filing of an appeal, making false and misleading statements to the client, and making false statements to family members regarding the status of the litigation, 25) failing to exercise reasonable diligence in an administrative proceeding by failing to respond to a motion for summary judgment and to an inquiry from an administrative law judge, 26) failing to exercise reasonable diligence and failing to make reasonable efforts to expedite an administrative proceeding, including by failing to timely prepare and file declarations, timely respond to a motion, and ascertain client availability before making representations to the tribunal, 27) making false statements to an administrative law judge regarding declarations, client attestations, and hearing availability, 28) failing to communicate with a client regarding the status of an administrative proceeding, failing to promptly respond to inquiries, and failing to explain developments sufficiently to permit informed decisions, 29) making false statements in a reply brief submitted in an administrative proceeding, 30) failing to respond to a motion for summary judgment in an administrative proceeding, 31) failing to appear at one or more administrative hearings, 32) failing to exercise reasonable diligence by failing to appear at hearings, failing to notify the tribunal in advance of a possible inability to appear, and failing to timely explain the reasons for the failure to appear, 33) failing to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation by failing to timely respond to requests for information, provide written responses, produce subpoenaed records, submit to deposition, respond to investigative inquiries, and provide requested credentials, 34) making false statements to disciplinary counsel regarding receipt of correspondence, responses allegedly sent, communications received, and personal medical and dental conditions, 35) failing to serve an affidavit of compliance as required by the disciplinary rules, 36) representing clients on a contingent fee basis without having a written fee agreement signed by the clients that set forth how the fee would be determined, 37) filing an appeal on behalf of clients without authorization to do so, 38) failing to exercise reasonable diligence, including by failing to communicate with opposing counsel and staff, make initial disclosures, provide discovery, cooperate in scheduling depositions and medical examinations, respond to motions, comply with deadlines, maintain current court contact information, notify the court of a change in law firm affiliation, and monitor the court docket, 39) failing to timely provide initial disclosures and failing to immediately notify clients in writing of the dismissal of an appeal as required by court orders, 40) failing to communicate with clients regarding the status of their cases, failing to explain developments sufficiently to permit informed decisions, and failing to provide requested updates, 41) withholding information from clients regarding the status of their cases, making misleading statements regarding the status of an appeal, making false statements to a third party, and making a false statement to opposing counsel regarding initial disclosures, 42) making false statements to a court regarding receiving medical treatment, 43) testifying falsely under oath concerning counsel status and purported medical treatment, 44) failing to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation by failing to respond to requests for information, provide requested medical information and releases, produce subpoenaed records, and submit to deposition, 45) feigning impaired speech during a deposition, 46) making false statements to the Washington Supreme Court during a show cause hearing and in a declaration submitted to the Court, 47) failing to exercise reasonable diligence by failing to file an answer to a counterclaim, timely file a motion to dismiss, timely file an opening brief, and respond to an order to show cause, 48) failing to timely file an opening brief or motion and failing to respond to an order to show cause, 49) making false statements in a written response to a grievance regarding clients' purported strategic decisions concerning litigation, and 50) engaging in conduct that demonstrated an unfitness to practice law.
Decision documents: Hearing Officer’s Decision; Disciplinary Board Order Declining Sua Sponte Review and Adopting Hearing Officer’s Decision; and Washington Supreme Court Order.
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