(DOWNLOAD) "Thomas F. Kennedy Respondent" by Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Thomas F. Kennedy Respondent
- Author : Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia
- Release Date : January 20, 1988
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 63 KB
Description
ROGERS, Associate Judge: The Board on Professional Responsibility ("the Board") found that the respondent Kennedy violated
Disciplinary Rule (DR) 3-101 (B) 1 by engaging in the practice of law while under suspension and DR 1-102 (A) (4) 2
by (1) failing to remit to his law firm a retainer fee received from a firm client, (2) instructing another client of the
firm to send payment to his new office after he had left the firm, and (3) misrepresenting his current salary to the loan
office of a savings and loan institution. The Board also found that the seriousness of the conduct and the need for consistency,
D.C. Bar R. XI, § 7(3), warranted a more stringent sanction than the ninety day suspension recommended by Bar Counsel
and the Hearing Committee, and recommended that Kennedy by suspended from the practice of law for a year and a day. Kennedy contends that he did not violate DR 1-102 (A) (4) because he only engaged in non-criminal acts that were unrelated
to the practice of law. He argues that, as evidenced by his abandonment of pursuit of a loan, he did not intend to deceive
the bank and that the fee controversy was a private matter with his law firm. He also argues that the recommended sanction
is excessive because it is inconsistent with the sanctions imposed in comparable cases, none of his acts led to the harm of
any client, and he was unaware he was under suspension for failure to pay his Bar dues. We agree with the Board that Kennedy
committed four violations of the rules, but find that the recommended sanction is inconsistent with those imposed in recent,
comparable cases. In our view the Board failed to consider the relationship of these non-criminal acts to Kennedy's fitness
to practice law, and overestimated the seriousness of Kennedy's failure to pay Bar dues. We conclude that the appropriate
sanction is suspension for ninety days.
 "Thomas F. Kennedy Respondent" by Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia " Book PDF Kindle ePub Free){kind=link}