,$uintrur (Court of flc-R 

2015-SC-000020-KB 

DENNIS MICHAEL RITCHIE 

V IN SUPREME COURT 

KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION RESPONDENT 

OPINION AND ORDER 

Dennis Michael Ritchie, KBA Member No. 87106, 1admits to violating the 

Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct and moves this Court to issue an 

order permitting him to withdraw from the practice of law under terms of 

permanent disbarment under Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 3.480(3). 2The KBA 

raises no objection to Ritchie's motion. 

Ritchie was admitted to the practice of law in Kentucky on April 27, 1998; and 

his bar roster address is 509 West 9th Street, P.O. Box 1111, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 

42241. 

2 SCR 3.480(3) provides, in pertinent part: 

Any member who has been engaged in unethical or unprofessional 

conduct and desires to withdraw his membership under terms of 

permanent disbarment shall file a verified motion with the Court 

stating as follows: 

(a) He/she has violated the Rules of Professional Conduct, or 

his/her conduct fails to comply with those rules, the specifics of which 

shall be detailed in the motion. 

(b) He/she will not seek reinstatement and understands the 

provisions of SCR 3.510 and SCR 3.520 do not apply. 

(c) He/she will not practice law in the Commonwealth of 

Kentucky subsequent to the permanent disbarment order. 

IMP FL B U IS D 

MOVANT 
I. BACKGROUND. 

Tim and Kelly Robinson hired Ritchie to represent them to seek custody 

of Tim's son and paid Ritchie a $2,500 retainer. Tim died unexpectedly before 

Ritchie initiated the proceeding, and Kelly was left with no legal claim to 

custody of Tim's son. So Ritchie did not earn a fee in the matter but kept the 

full amount of the retainer, nonetheless. 

Ritchie met with Kelly a month after Tim's death as she sought Ritchie's 

professional services to seek grandparent visitation with Tim's son on behalf of 

Tim's parents. Kelly paid Ritchie a separate retainer of $10,000 for this 

9. 

undertaking. During this meeting, Ritchie convinced Kelly to create an escrow 

account for the benefit of Tim's son because Tim had wanted to do this before 

he died. Kelly agreed and gave Ritchie a check for $50,000 for that purpose. 

Ritchie neither provided the professional services to seek grandparent 

visitation, nor did he deposit the $50,000 into an escrow account. Instead, 

Ritchie spent the $50,000 on himself and when confronted about the creation 

of the escrow account, borrowed money from friends and family to reimburse 

Kelly the $50,000. 

The Inquiry Commission issued a three-count complaint against Ritchie 

in KBA file 21351 because of his dealings with the Robinsons. In Count One, 

the Commission charges Ritchie with a violation of SCR 3.130-1.15(a) 3for 

3SCR 3.130-1.15(a) provides in pertinent part: 

A lawyer shall hold property of clients or third persons that is in a 

lawyer's possession in connection with a representation separate from 

the lawyer's own property. Funds shall be kept in a separate account 

maintained in the state where the lawyer's office is situated, or 

2 
failing to hold the $50,000 and the two retainers in an account separate from 

his own property. Count Two alleges Ritchie violated SCR 3.130-8.4(b) 4by 

appropriating to his personal use the $50,000 intended for the creation of an 

escrow account. And Count Three alleges violation of SCR 3-130-8.4(c) 5by 

charging fees for unnecessary and unperformed services and misappropriating 

the $50,000 meant to be held in escrow. 

Ritchie pled guilty in a plea agreement reached in circuit court to two 

counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument and five counts of 

theft by deception over $500. He then entered a pre-trial diversion agreement 

that required him to pay a total of $29,100 in restitution to four former clients 

at a rate of $100 per month. 6This plea led to Ritchie's temporary suspension 

from the practice of law under SCR 3.165(1)(a) 7and another Inquiry 

elsewhere with the consent of the client, third person, or both in the 

event of a claim by each to the property. . . . 

4SCR 3.130-8.4(b) provides: "It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to .. . 

commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness 

or fitness as a lawyer in other respects[.]" 

5SCR 3.130-8.4(c) provides: "It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to . 

engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation[.]" 

6Kelly Robinson is to be paid $12,500 in restitution for the two unearned 

retainers paid to Ritchie. The $50,000 was not included in the restitution order 

because it was repaid prior to Ritchie's guilty plea. 

7 SCR 3.165(l )(a) provides: 

On petition of the Inquiry Commission, authorized by its Chair, or 

the Chair's lawyer member designee, and supported by an affidavit, an 

attorney may be temporarily suspended from the practice of law by 

order of the Court provided . . . it appears that probable cause exists to 

believe that an attorney is or has been misappropriating funds the 

attorney holds for others to his/her own use or has been otherwise 

improperly dealing with said funds[.] 

Ritchie was temporarily suspended by order of this Court, entered May 23, 2013. He 

has not been reinstated from this temporary suspension. 

3 
Commission charge. KBA file 20807 charges Ritchie with an additional 

violation of 3.130-8.4(b) for pleading guilty to second-degree possession of a 

forged instrument and theft by deception over $500. 

Nine more KBA disciplinary files, the substance of which are not 

presently before this Court, are currently pending against Ritchie. 8 

II. DISCIPLINE. 

Ritchie admits his conduct in the matters discussed above and concedes 

it violates the Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct. He acknowledges the 

seriousness of his misconduct and the nine additional KBA disciplinary 

matters currently pending against him. So Ritchie moves this Court to allow 

his withdrawal from the practice of law under terms of permanent disbarment. 

With no objection from the KBA, we agree that Ritchie's motion to withdraw 

from the practice of law is appropriate under SCR 3.480(3). Accordingly, the 

Court ORDERS: 

1) Dennis Michael Ritchie is permanently disbarred from the practice 

of law, and the reinstatement provisions contained in SCR 3.510 and 3.520 are 

inapplicable to him; 

2) The remaining KBA disciplinary files against Ritchie-21452, 

21484, 21523, 21605, 21611, 21708, 21761, 21908, and 22332—are 

dismissed as moot; 

8KBA files 21452, 21484, 21523, 21605, 21611, 21708, 21761, 21908, and 

22332 are also pending against Ritchie. 

4 
3) In accordance with SCR 3.450, Ritchie must pay all costs 

associated with these proceedings, that sum being $241.89, for which 

execution may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order; 

and 

4) Under SCR 3.390, Ritchie must, within ten days from the date of 

this Opinion and Order, notify all clients, in writing, of his inability to represent 

them; notify, in writing, all courts in which he has matters pending of his 

disbarment from the practice of law; and furnish copies of all letters of notice to 

the Office of Bar Counsel. Furthermore, to the extent possible, Ritchie must 

immediately cancel and cease any advertising activities in which he is engaged. 

All sitting. All concur. 

ENTERED: April 2, 2015. 

5