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E. Armstrong Williams (WSBA No. 30361, admitted 2000), of Spokane, was disbarred, effective March 14, 2007, by order of the Washington State Supreme Court following a default hearing. This discipline was based on his conduct between 2004 and 2005 in multiple matters involving failure to comply with duties on suspension, lack of diligence, failure to communicate with clients, failure to protect client interests on termination of representation, and noncooperation with disciplinary investigations.
In July 2004, Mr. Williams was suspended from practicing law for failure to pay license fees. He did not notify his clients, opposing counsel, or the courts of his suspension. In September 2004, Mr. Williams abandoned his law practice without making any arrangements for a lawyer to take over his active cases, which resulted in the following misconduct:
Matter 1: In June 2004, a client hired Mr. Williams to defend him against possession of marijuana charges. The client paid to Mr. Williams $1,500. At arraignment on June 14, the court set a pretrial hearing for July 2004. Neither the client nor Mr. Williams appeared at the hearing. Following the June 2004 arraignment, Mr. Williams did not respond to any of the client's letters or telephone messages. Mr. Williams did not return the client's file to him, do any further legal work, or refund any unearned fees.
Matter 2: In April 2004, Mr. Williams was hired by a client to assist her in a marriage dissolution proceeding. The client paid Mr. Williams $500 and gave him all of her original documents, including insurance papers, retirement papers, and an original stock certificate. The client did not keep copies of her documents. Mr. Williams reassured the client that he would send copies of the documents to her, which he did not do. Mr. Williams filed a notice of appearance and response to the petition on April 9. A status conference was held on May 27, and the next day, the court entered a case schedule with a November 2004 trial date. Mr. Williams took no further action in the case, did not respond to the client's many attempts to contact him, and did not arrange for substitution of counsel.
Matter 3: In January 2004, a client hired Mr. Williams to obtain an order for post-secondary education child support while the client's daughter (then 16 years old) attended college. Mr. Williams encouraged the client to seek increased child support for both her daughters. The client paid Mr. Williams $1,000. In February 2004, Mr. Williams filed a motion and order for show cause, which was opposed. The hearing was continued until May, at which time Mr. Williams filed a summons and petition for modification of support, which was opposed. Mr. Williams took no further action on behalf of his client, and he did not respond to any of the client's telephone calls, e-mails, or correspondence after August 2004.
Matter 4: In August 2003, a client hired Mr. Williams to handle problems with a parenting plan. The client gave Mr. Williams some original documents. At the time, Mr. Williams was an associate at a law firm. In October 2003, Mr. Williams left the law firm to form his own firm and took the client's file with him. Between August 2003 and June 2004, the client made installment payments on Mr. Williams's flat fee of $2,000. After June 2004, Mr. Williams did not respond to any of the client's telephone calls, e-mails, or correspondence. The client was unable to obtain any of his original documents or his client file from Mr. Williams.
In the above-described matters, Mr. Williams failed to cooperate with the Bar Association by not providing requested information and documents, by not responding to requests for responses to grievances, by not appearing at a scheduled deposition, and by not producing documents as required by subpoena.
Mr. Williams'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, to promptly comply with reasonable requests for information, and to 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 1.15(d), requiring a lawyer to take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client's interests upon termination of representation, including giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled, and refunding any advance payment of fee that has not been earned; and RPC 8.4(l), prohibiting a lawyer from violating a duty or sanction imposed by or under the Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct in connection with a disciplinary matter [here, ELC 1.5, ELC 5.8(e) and (f), and ELC 14.1(c)].
Leslie C. Allen represented the Bar Association. Mr. Williams did not appear either in person or through counsel. John H. Loeffler was the hearing officer. |