This opinion is subject to revision before final

p ublication in the Pacific Reporter

201 6 UT 32

IN THE



## S UPREME 

## C OURT OF THE 

## S TATE OF 

## U TAH

In the m atter of the Discipline of

D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

.

D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. , Appellant

,

v.

U TAH S TATE B AR
, Appell ee

.

No. 20150628 Filed July 20, 2016

On Direct Appeal

Fourth District, Provo

The Honorable Fred D. Howard

No. 100401646

Attorneys:

Lynn O. Poulson, Lehi, for appellant

Adam C. Bevis, Salt Lake City, for appellee

J USTICE P EARCE authored t he opinion of the Court in which

C HIEF J USTICE D URRANT
, A SSOCIATE C HIEF J USTICE L EE , J USTICE D URHAM , and J USTICE H IMONAS joined.

J USTICE P EARCE , opinion of the Court :

¶1 Donald D. Gilbert, Jr. appeals the district court’s order concluding that he violated the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct and disbarring him from the practice of law. We affirm the district

court’s order and conclude that disbarment is an appropriate

sa nction.Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

2 BACKGROUND

¶2 Donald D. Gilbert

, Jr. represented the Utah Down Syndrome Association (the Association) and a number of its founders in a dispute with the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation ( the

Foundation ). The Foundation is a Utah nonprofit corporation that operates, in part, through fourteen county chapters . The chapters are

run mainly by volunteers who help the Foundation achieve its goals of advocating for and providing support to members of the community with Down s ynd rome.

¶3 In 200 6

, a number of the board members of the Salt Lake and Utah County chapters ( the Chapters) became concerned with the

Foundation ’s operations . These board members questioned whether

the Foundation was complying with its governing documents and

Ut ah law. They hired Gilbert to consult with them on their corporate governance questions

. Eventually, a number of the Chapters ’

officers , while still serving in their representative capacities for the Chapters, formed the Association as a purportedly separa te entity with charitable purposes similar to the Foundation’s.

¶4 T he Foundation responded by sending letters to six of the Chapter s’ officers

, removing them from their positions with in the

C hapter s

. The dispute between the Foundation and the officers eventually boiled over into litigation

. Gilbert represented the Association, the Chapters

, and certain members of the Chapters’

boards of directors in two lawsuits.

¶5 In the first suit, two of the Chapters’ board members

, Eric

Holman and Melanie Taylor

, ret ained Gilbert to file derivative

claims against the Foundation ’s board of directors and officers on behalf of the Foundation and the Chapters. Gilbert’s clients sought a declaratory judgment that the president of the Foundation and other

officers lacked th e legal authority to act on behalf of the Foundation

. The district court granted summary judgment to the Foundation’s

officers , determining that Holman and Taylor did not have standing

to file suit on the Foundation’s behalf

. ¶6 In the second action, the Foundation sought an accounting

and the return of funds that the Foundation claimed the

Association’s founders had taken. The Foundation named Holman, Taylor, and five additional board members of the Chapters ( the Individual Defendants) in the suit. The Fo undation also named the

Association as a defendant. The Foundation alleged that the

Individual Defendants had acted unlawfully by continuing to accessCite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

3 the Chapters ’ bank accounts

, which the Foundation claimed were in actuality the Foundation ’s bank account s , after the Individual

Defendants had been removed from their Chapter positions

. ¶7 The Foundation moved for partial summary judgment , which

the Individual Defendants did not oppose. T he district court granted

the Foundation’s motion and issued an order requiring the

Individual Defendants to return all funds taken from the bank

accounts and enjoined the Individual Defendants from further accessing funds in those accounts (the Injunction )

. Although Gilbert did not represent the I ndividual Defendants in the second action at

the time the court entered the Injunction

, Gilber t received a copy of

th at order approximately five days after it issued

. ¶8 After receiving the Injunction

, Gilbert accepted four checks for payment of $30,000 in attorney fees that were drawn on th e bank

accounts the Injunction identified as belonging to the Foundation

. Holman, who was expressly enjoined from accessing th os e bank

accounts and who had been ordered to retu rn the Chapter fund s to
the Foundation by the Injunction , signed the first check for $6,000. 1 All four checks were signed, delivered, and negotiated after entry of

the Injunction

. ¶9 At the time he accepted the checks, Gilbert knew , or should have known, that the funds he received were the subject of litigation

and that the bank accounts from which the funds were taken were subject to the I njunction . Nevertheless

, Gilbert did not deposit the

monies into a trust account or otherwise hold the funds pending the

resolution of the dispute between his clients and the Foundation

. Nor , as the district court found

, did Gilbert “notify the court . . . of his intention to accept the . . . check s based on his position that [ the Injunction ] was invalid, void, had expired, [and] did n ot apply to the [ funds ] he received

. ” Rather, Gilbert simply cashed the checks and kept the funds.

¶10 The Foundation eventually learned that Gilbert had received
payment s from the bank accounts subject to the Injunction

. The

Foundation filed a motion to disgorge and requested an order requiring Gilbert to return the funds he had received from the Chapters’ bank accounts

. After a hearing on the Foundation ’s

_____________________________________________________________

1 The other three checks were signed by Chapter board members who had not been expressly named in the Injunction

.Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

4 motion, the district court ordered Gilbert to return the attorney fees

to the Fou ndation

. ¶11 Despite the district court’s order, Gilbert did not return the legal fees he had received. T he Foundation eventually filed a seco n d motion for disgorgement of funds. The court granted the

Foundation ’s second motion and entered judgment against Gil bert for $30,000 , interest, and associated attorney fees. To date, Gilbert

has not return ed the funds to the Foundation.

¶12 T wo years after the district court issued the second disgorgement order

, a Foundation officer filed an informal complaint against Gilbe rt with t he Utah State Bar’s Office of Professional Conduct ( the OPC)

. After a screening panel

recommend ed formal action

, the OPC initiated disciplinary proceedings against Gilbert. The OPC ’s complaint alleged that

Gilbert had violated five of the Utah R ules of Professional Conduct

. Gilbert ’s defense centered on the validity of the Injunction and the disgorgement order . He argued that the Injunction was void for a variety of reasons, that he had no obligation to comply with a void order, and that he was e xcused from comply ing with the disgorgement order because the court lacked jurisdiction over him as a nonparty to the action s

. ¶13 Gilbert filed a third

- party complaint pursuant to rule 14 of

the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure

, impleading the Foundation into

h is disciplinary proceeding

. T he district court granted Gilbert’s

motion

, but this court reversed that decision . We held that third

party complaints are inappropriate in attorney discipline proceeding s

. In re Discipline of Gilbert v. Utah Down Syndrome Found

. , Inc. , 2012 UT 81, ¶ 28, 301 P.3d 979. We concluded that “[n]either the historical nor current framework for adjudicating attorney discipline cases allows litigation of collateral matters in an attorney disciplinary action

. ” Id. ¶ 29. We then remand ed the case and directed that “by denying impleader in this case, we do not dismiss [Gilbert’s] third

- party complaint on its merits

. ” Id. ¶ 28. We also suggested that Gilbert “ may pursue his third

- party complaint in an independent action.” Id.

¶14 On remand

, the district court dismissed Gilbert’s third

- party complaint against the Foundation without prejudice. Gilbert objected

and mo ved for a new trial or new judgment. Gilbert contended

, inter

alia

, that Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 21 required the district cou rt to sever, and not dismiss, his third

- party complaint. The district

court denied that motion.Cite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

5 ¶15 Gilbert also moved to stay or continue the disciplinary proceedings until his third

- party complaint against the Foundation

could be resolved. The district court determined that Gilbert had not

shown good cause to stay the disciplinary action

. The court concluded that the facts underlying the disciplinary proceeding have “little to do with [Gilbert’s] appeal against [the Foundation] ,” and that even if Gilbert were to succeed against the Foundation

, the resolution of that dispute “would not affect the issues in the disciplinary case.”

¶16 The district court held a five

- day bench trial. At the end of the trial, t he district court concluded that Gilbert had violated four of

the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct: rule 1.7(a) (Conflict of Interest: Current Clients), rule 1.15(e) (Safekeeping Property), rule 3.4(c) (Fairness to Opposing Party and Counsel), and rule 8.4(d) (Misconduct).

¶17 The dis trict court then determined that disbarment was the presumptive discipline under rule 14

- 605 of the Supreme Court

Rules of Professional Practice and reviewed aggravating and mitigating circumstances. It found the following aggravating

circumstances: that G ilbert ’s conduct evidenced a selfish motive; that Gilbert had committed multiple violations of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct; that Gilbert continually refused to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his actions and had

demonstrated a lack of remorse ; that Gilbert had substantial experience in the practice of law; and that Gilbert had “made no effort to rectify the consequences of the misconduct,” including his failure to repay any of the $30,000 owed to the Foundation . The court

determined that the a bsence of a prior disciplinary record and the testimony of family and friends relating to his good character were mitigating circumstances . Based on the many aggravating

circumstances and the relative lack of mitigating circumstances, the

co urt determined that the presumptive sanction of disbarment was appropriate and entered an order disbarring Gilbert from the practice of law. Gilbert appeals.

ISSUES AND STANDARD S OF REVIEW

¶18 Gilbert first argues the district court erred in concluding that

he violated the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct. “ This court is charged with governing the conduct and discipline of those admitted to practice law in this state. ” In re Discipline of Johnson , 2001 UT 110, ¶ 3, 48 P.3d 881. Accordingly, “[i] n matters of attorney discip line, we review ‘ findings of facts under t he clearly erroneousDiscipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

6 standard ’ while ‘ reserv[ing] the right to draw different inferences. ’ ” In re Discipline of Brussow , 2012 UT 53, ¶ 13, 286 P.3d 1246 (second alteration in original) (citation omitted)

. ¶19 Gilbert n ext contends that disbarment is an improper and

excessive sanction . We review the district court’s decision for correctness because “our constitutional responsibility requires us to make an independent [sanction] determination.” In re Discipline of Jardine , 2015 UT 51, ¶ 16, 353 P.3d 154 (citation omitted)

. ¶20 Gilbert also contends that the district court erred by improperly dismissing his third

- party complaint against the

Foundation

. Specifically, Gilbert argues that rule 21 of the Utah

Rules of Civil Proced ure required the district court to sever

, rather

than dismiss

, his complaint. “ A district court’ s interpretation of a rule of civil procedure presents a question of law that is reviewed for

correctness. ” Aequitas Enters., LLC v. Interstate Inv. Grp., LLC

, 2011 UT 82, ¶ 7, 267 P.3d 923. The district court’s dismissal of a third

- party complaint

, however

, is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See Strandlund v. Hawley , 5 3 2 F.3d 741, 745 (8th Cir. 2008) (“ We review
the district court ’ s order dismissing appellants for misjoinder under

an abuse of discretion standard. ”); cf. In re Discipline of Gilbert v. Utah Down Syndrome Found. , Inc. , 2012 UT 81, ¶ 14, 301 P.3d 979.

¶21 Gilbert ’s final argument posits that the district court abused

its discretion in declining to stay the disciplinary proceedings to permit him to resolve his complaint against the Foundation . We review a district court’s refusal to grant a stay of proceedings for an

abuse of discretion. Lewis v. Moultree , 627 P.2d 94, 96 (Utah 1981) (“I t lies within the inherent powers of the courts to grant a stay of proceedings. It is a discretionary power, and the grounds therefor necessarily vary according to the requirements of each individual

case. ”); see also Macris v . Sevea Int’l , Inc. , 2013 UT A pp 176, ¶ 25, 307

P.3d 625.

ANALYSIS

I. GIL BERT VIOLATED THE UTAH RULES OF

PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT

A

. Rule 1.7 (Conflict of Interest: Current Clients)

¶22 Gilbert first challenges the district court’s conclusion that he

violated rule 1.7 of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 1.7 requires that a lawyer “not represent a client if the representation

involves a concurrent conflict of interest.” U TAH R. P ROF ’ L C ONDU CT 1.7(a). A concurrent conflict of interest exists if “[t]he representationCite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

7 of one client will be directly adverse to another client” or “[t]here is a significant risk that the representation of one or more clients will be materially limited by the lawyer ’s responsibilities to another client, a former client or a third person or by a personal interest of the lawyer.” Id. R. 1.7(a)(1)

– (2). Notwithstanding the existence of a

concurrent con flict of interest, a lawyer may in some instances represent a client i f, among other things, “each affected client gives informed consent, confirmed in writing.” Id. R. 1.7(b)(4).

¶23 The district court found at least two rule 1.7 violations. 2
First, the court found, “Once [Gilbert] accepted and cashed checks

_____________________________________________________________

2 In addition to the two violations discussed in the text, the district court appears to have found an additional violation based upon Gilbert’s concurrent representation of both the Foundation and the Individual Defendants. Gilbert steadfastly maintains that the district court erred because he never represented the Foundation. The district court found, “Where [the Chapters] were not separate entities from [the Foundation], their interests were adverse to the interest of the [Individual Defendants].” On t his point, the district court’s order has a distinct “hoisted by his own petard” flavor, as it appears that Gilbert did at times assert that the Chapters “are not any sort of legal entity in any way, shape, or form,” but were part of

the Foundation as a me ans to argue that his clients could not comply with, or were already in compliance with, certain court orders. The record does not reflect the relationship between the Foundation and the Chapters with enough precision to allow us to opine on the ultimate correctness of the district court’s finding and conclusion. Gilbert’s briefing similarly does not provide any assistance in sorting out the relationship between the Chapters and the Foundation. We therefore reject Gilbert’s challenges to this portion of th e court’s order as inadequately briefed. See Sanpete Am., LLC, v. Willardsen , 2011 UT 48, ¶ 64 n.14, 269 P.3d 118 (“We will not address inadequately briefed issues.”); Johnson v. Johnson , 2014 UT 21, ¶ 20, 330 P.3d 704 (holding that to adequately brief an issue, the party must include “the contentions and reasons of the appellant with respect to the issues presented, including the grounds for reviewing any issue not preserved in the trial court, with citations to the authorities, statutes, an d parts of the record relied on ” and that “[m] ere bald citation to authority, devoid of an y analysis, is not adequate” (citations omitted)). However, given the murkiness cloaking the district court’s conclusion and the abundance of other (continued . . .)Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

8 written against fu nds in [the Chapters ’ ] accounts, [his] interests in getting paid and avoiding disgorgement of the legal fees he received

created a concurrent conflict with the interest of his clients and their need to comply with the [ Injunction ].” The court determined that

“ even if the concurrent conflict[] w[as] waivable, . . . Gilbert failed to

consult with each of his clients about the conflicts of interest and obtain written waivers giving their informed consent.” Gilbert does not challenge this conclusion

. ¶24 Gilber t’s failure to contest this con clusion permits us to uphold the district court’s rule 1.7 finding because we wi ll not reverse a ruling of the district court that rests on independent alternative grounds where the appellant challe nges only one of those

grou nds. See State v. Roberts

, 2015 UT 24, ¶ 38, 345 P.3d 1226.

Nevertheless , the district court correctly concluded that Gilbert’s interests diverged from his clients ’ once the court ordered him to return the attorney fees. Although this alone would sustain t he court’s determination that Gilbert violated rule 1.7, we review Gilbert’s challenge to the di strict court’s other rule 1.7 determination because we examine the entirety of the record to deter mine the appropriate sanction.

¶25 The district court next conclud ed that Gilbert

simultaneous ly represent ed the Individual Defendants , the Chapters, and the Association “when a concurrent conflict of interest existed between some of the parties’ interests.” Among other things,

t he district court found that Gilbert , due to his representation of the Individual Defendants, was unable to consult with or advise the other board members of the Chapters to take actions that could be contrary to the Individual Defendants’ interest s

. ¶26 Gilbert does not argue that the r ules of p rofes sional c onduct permit his concurrent representation of the Individual Defendants and the other Chapter board members. Instead, he contends that “[n]ot a single one of [ his clients] has come forward with any complaint” about his concurrent representation, s o there can be no

conflict. Although Gilbert does not express his argument in these terms, his argument could be construed as one rooted in waiver. In other words, since none of his clients complained about the

_____________________________________________________________ evidence demonstrating Gilbert’s violations, we will not factor this particular rule 1.7 violation finding into our analysis of the appropriate sanction for Gilbert’s actions.Cite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

9 concurrent representation, they shou ld be dee med to have waived

the conflict. Although a party can waive a rule 1.7 conflict in some circumstances, each affected client must give informed consent, confirmed in writing. See U TAH R. P ROF ’ L C OND UCT 1.7(b). There is no question that Gilbert never sought or received his clients’

informed and written consent to waive the conflict of interest . Thus, the lack of complaint by Gilbert’s clients d id not bar the district court

from fin ding a conflict of interest.

¶27 Gilbert has not established that the district court err ed in concluding that Gilbert’s representation of the Individual

Defendants

, the Chapters

, and the Association created a concurrent
conflict of interest . Nor has he established that the district court erred in concluding that once the district cou rt ordered him to disgorge the attorney fees he had received, his interest in keeping

those fees created a concurrent conflict of interest that prevented him

from zealously representing his clients ’ interests

. 3

B

. Rule 3.4 (Fairness to Opposing Party and C ounsel)

¶28 Gilbert next challenges the district court’s determinat ion
that he violated rule 3.4 of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 3.4(c) instructs , “A lawyer shall not :

. . . knowingly disobey an obligation under the rules of a tribunal, except for an open refusal based on an assertion that no valid obligation exists.” Id. R. 3.4(c).

¶29 While rule 3.4(c) does not define the term “open r efusal ” n or describe how an attorney sh ould openly refuse, other courts and

commentators have determined that at a minimum, this rule requires an attorney to put a court on notice that the attorney will not comply

with the court

- imposed obligation. See 1 G EOFFREY C. H AZARD
, J R
., W ILLIAM W. H ODE S
, & P ETER R. J ARVIS
, L AW OF L AWYERING § 3 3.11

_____________________________________________________________

3 Gilbert also summarily contends that the district court’s rule 1.7

conflict

- of

- interest determination s should b e reversed because the

OPC “ presented no complaining witness and had no standing itself

to assert a conflict of interest .” We reject this argument as inadequately briefed. See State v. Timmerman , 2009 UT 58, ¶ 25 n.5, 218 P.3d 590 (“ An issue is inadeq uately briefed if the argument merely contains bald citations to authority [without] development of that authority and reasoned anal ysis based on that authority. ” (alteration in original) ( citation omitted) ( internal quotation marks omitted) )

.Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

10 ( 4th ed. 201 5) (noting that Model Rule 3.4(c) “permits good faith and

open noncompl iance in order to test an order’ s validity”) ; In re Disciplinary Proceeding Against Jones , 338 P.3d 842, 853 (Wash. 2014) ( con cluding that rule 3.4(c) of the Washing ton Rules of Professional

Co nduct is violated when an attorney takes action contrary to a court’s order unless the attorney openly and unequivocally refuses to comply before the court); In re Disciplinary Matter Involving Ford

, 128 P.3d 178, 181

– 82 (Alaska 2006) ( concluding that an attorney could have avoided a violation of rule 3.4(c) of the Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct by “ openly

. . . informing the superior court that he could not comply with the order ” and stating that “[a] n attorney may challenge a court order by motion, appeal, or other legal means, but may not simply disregard it ”)

. ¶30 In other words, rule 3.4(c) stands , at a minimum, for the proposition that an attorney must either obey a court order or alert

the court that he or she intends to not comply with the order. An attorney may not, as Gilbert did here, ignore a court order while secretly hoping to have a trump card to play if non

- compliance later

becomes an issue. See Chapman v. Pac

. Te l

. & T el. Co. , 613 F.2d 193, 197 (9th Cir. 1979) (“ An attorney who believes a court order is erroneous is not relieved of the duty to obey it. The proper course of action, unless and until the order is invalidated by an appellate court, is to comply and cite the order as reversible error should an adverse judgment result. ”); In re Disciplinary Action A gainst Igbanugo

, 863 N.W.2d 751, 763 (Minn. 2015) (determining that an attorney violated rule 3.4(c) of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct

because the atto rney’s failure to abide by a court order did not include an open refusal before the court and declining to give weight to the attorney’s belief that the obligation imposed by the court was beyond the court’s authority); In re Disciplinary Matter Involving Ford

, 128 P.3d at 181 (determining that an attorney violated Alaska Rule of Professional Conduct 3.4(c) by unilaterally returning a check to an

out

- of

- state payor in contravention of a court’s order, despite the court’s recognition that “ difficulties may a rise if an attorney honestly believes he or she is caught between obligations to the client and obligations to the court ,” because “[i]f [the attorney] felt he was obliged to disobey the superior court ’ s order, he should have done so openly by informing th e superior court that he could not comply

with the order ”).

¶31 The district court determined that Gilbert violated rule 3.4(c) “by failing to notify the court of his intention to accept the [attorney fees] checks and disobey the [ Injunction ] prior to or concurrent withCite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

11 his ac ceptance of the checks.” The record indicates that Gilbert was aware of, and had actually been served a copy of, the Injunction
before he accepted the checks from his clients. Gilbert contends

, without reference to rule or case law, that he was not required to put
the court on notice of his acceptance of the attorney fees in this

instance and that even if he did, his belief that the Injunction was void relieved him of any obligation to comply with the court’s order.

¶32 Altho ugh Gilbert may have harbored reservations about the order’s validity , he , in the district court’s words, “had a duty to openly contest the order by filing a request to stay the order in court, notify the court of his receipt of the . . . checks and at lea st hold the

monies in trust until the court ruled on the issue.” The district court interpreted and applied rule 3.4(c) correctly. 4

C

. Rule 1.15 (Safekeeping Property)

¶33 Gilbert also contends that the district court erred in

determini ng that he violated rule 1.15 of the Utah Rules of

Professional Conduct. Rule 1.15(e) requires,

When in the course of representation a lawyer is in possession of property in which two or more persons (one of whom may be the lawyer) claim interests, the property shall be kept separate by the lawyer until the dispute is resolved. The lawyer shall promptly distribute all portions of the property as to which the interests are not in dispute.

U TAH R. P ROF ’ L C ONDUCT 1.15(e).

_____________________________________________________________

4 Gilbert relies o n this court’s 1913 decision in In re Evans as authority for the proposition that an attorney can ignore a void court
order. See 130 P. 217 (Utah 1913). In Evans, two attorneys were disbarred for champerty , an illegal agreement to share lawsuit proceeds wi th a person with no prior interest in the suit. The
attorneys were prohibited from practicing law until they returned

certain funds to the court. Id. at 220. On review, t his court found the

disbarment order void and vacated it. Id. at 231. Nothing in Evans suggests that an attorney can, consistent with Utah R ules of

P rofessional C onduct, ignore a court order. To the contrary, the attorneys in Evans returned the funds as the district court ordered prior to petitioning this court to vacate the court order

. Id

. at 220.Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

12 ¶34 The district court concluded that Gilbert violated rule 1 .15(e) in two ways. First, Gilbert failed to place any of the $30,000 in attorney fees in a trust account despite kn owing that both the

Foundation and his cl ients claimed ownership of the funds. And second, Gilbert violated rule 1.15(e) by failing to retur n the $30,000 to

the Foundation when ordered to do so by the court

. See id. R. 1.15 cmt. 3 (“ The undisputed portion of the funds shall be promptly

distributed. ”) ; 1 G EOFFREY C. H AZARD
, J R
., W ILLIAM W. H ODES
, & P ETER R. J ARVIS
, L AW OF L AWYERING § 20.03 ( 4th ed. 20 1 5 ) (concluding that rule 1.15(e) requires an attorney to “promptly make proper disposition as to any undisputed portion, and expeditiously seek to settle the dispute as to the remainder”); i d. § 20.08 (concluding that rule 1.15(e) requires that “the lawyer . . . not take advantage of physical control of the funds, but must scrupulously abide” by the requirement that an attorney return funds no longer in dispute); i d. (“Rule 1.15(e) requires tha t any amounts that are not in dispute be disbursed promptly according to paragraph (d), but that the lawyer continue to segregate and keep safe the remaining funds until the dispute can be resolved .” (emphasis added))

. Gilbert does not challenge any of the factual findings underlying the district court’s

conclusions

. Nor does Gilbert contend that the district court ’s order misconstrued rule 1.15(e).

¶35 Instead, Gilbert contends that he did not violate rule 1.15(e)

because the Injunction was void. As explained above, a n attorney has a professional obligation to comply with a court order and

cannot unilaterally ignore a court order based on her belief that the court’s order was wrongly determined. It logically follows that an attorney cannot ign ore rule 1.15(e) ’ s obligation to safekeep disputed

funds and disburse undisputed funds based upon a claim that the

district court’s order is void. Gilbert’s attack on the court’s rule 1.15(e) determination fails.

D

. Rule 8.4 (Misconduct)

¶36 Gilbert also disputes the district court’s determinat ion that

he violated rule 8.4 of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct. Rule 8.4 defines professional misconduct and prohibits attorneys from engaging “in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.” U TAH R. P ROF ’ L C ON DUCT 8.4(d)

. T he district court concluded that Gilbert violated rule 8.4(d) by failing to comply with

the Injunction , by failing to comply with the district court’s disgorgement order, and by assisting his clients ’ violation of the Injunction

.Cite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

13 ¶37 Gilbert doe s not challenge the facts underlying the court’s determination. Rather, Gilbert again contends that his actions did

not violate rule 8.4 because he had a good faith belief that the district

court’s orders were invalid. He points to comment 4 to rule 8.4,

w hich states, “ A lawyer may refuse to comply with an obligation imposed by law upon a good faith belief that no valid obligation

exists. ” Id. R. 8.4 cmt. 4.

¶38 That comment does not, however, provide an attorney carte blanche to ignore court orders. As explained above, the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct contemplate the situation in which Gilbert

found himself: subject to an order he believed to be flawed . The r ules

instruct an attorney in that situation to either comply or openly refuse to comply. An open refusal permits the district court to assess the attorney’s argument and allows opposing counsel to take action to protect her client from the opposing attor ney’s noncompliance. An
attorney cannot , consistent with the rules of professional conduct

, unilaterally and surreptitiously flout a court order. To the contrary, willful disregard of a district court’s order without an open objection constitutes conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.

¶39 D espite the directive of the rules of profess ional conduct,

Gilbert declined to formally or ope nly object to the court’s order

. Instead, Gilbert disregarded the disgorgement order without taking any action to appeal, stay

, or otherwise object to the order

. The

district court correctly noted , “Regardle ss of whether an attorney believes that the attorney is entitled to fees from a client, if court
order s award the funds to others, the attorney violates rule 8.4(d) by disregarding the orders.” See In re Disciplinary Action A gainst Igbanugo , 863 N.W.2d at 763

– 64 (concluding that an attorney’s

“ failure to comply with a court order is conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice ” despite the attorney’s contention that the judge lacked au thority to enter the order).

¶40 The district court did not err in de termining that Gilbert’s conduct was prejudicial to the administration of justice. We affirm the district court’s conclusion that Gilbert violated rules 1.7, 1.15(e), 3.4(c), and 8.4(d) of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct.

II. DISBARMENT IS AN APPROPRIATE SANCTION

¶41 Gilbert also contends that disbarment constitutes an inappropriate sanction for his conduct

. In matters of attorney discipline, we have a responsibility to ensure that the correct discipline is imposed. We owe no deference to the distr ict court ’sDiscipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

14 determination

. See In re Discipline of Jardine

, 2015 UT 51, ¶ 16, 353

P.3d 154

. ¶42 Gilbert attacks the district court’s order on two fronts . First,
Gilbert argues that his conduct does not give rise to the presumption

of disbarment found in r ule 14

- 605 of the Supreme Court Rules of

Professional Practice.

¶43 Rule 14

- 605 provides that disbarment is presumptively appropriate when a lawyer

knowingly engages in professional misconduct as defined in Rule 8.4(a), (d), (e), or (f) of the Rules of

Professio nal Conduct with the intent to benefit the lawyer or another or to deceive the court, and causes serious or potentially serious injury to a party, the public, or the legal system, or causes serious or potentially serious interference with a legal proceedin g

.
S UP

. C T

. R. P ROF ’ L P RAC TICE 14

- 605(a).

¶44 Gilbert argues that the district court erred in finding that he committed knowing violations of rule 8.4(d) and that the OPC failed
to present first

- hand evidence of his intent to benefit himself

. Gilbert’s argument fails because a court is entitled to make findings

based on circumstantial evidence. C f. Salt Lake City v. Carrera , 2015 UT 73, ¶ 11, 358 P.3d 1067 (“‘[I]t is a well

- settled rule that

circumstantial evidence alone may be sufficient to establish the guilt

of the accused. ’ Circumstantial evidence is particularly useful in establishing intent because direct evidence of intent is rarely

available.

. . . [ C] ircumstantial evidence [may be used] to find intent
on the basis of reasonable infere nces drawn from the evidence

. ” (first alteration in original) ( citation omitted ) ) . Here sufficient circumstantial evidence exists to support the district court’s findings.

¶45 The undisputed evidence demonstrates that Gilbert knowingly violated rule 8.4(d) of the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct, as required by rule 14

- 605(a). Gilbert knowingly ignored, and continues to knowingly ignore

, the court’s disgorgement order

. Gilbert was present and argu ed before the district court when the court first ordered him to return the attorney fees. Gilbert does not dispute that he was sent a copy of the court’s second order requiring

him to disgorge the $30,000 in attorney fees. The distric t court did not need Gilbert’s testimony on the question of intent to properlyCite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

15 conclude that Gilbert m ade a conscious choice to disobey these court
directives. 5

¶46 Gilbert also contends that insufficient evidence was adduced at trial to support the district c ourt’s findings that his conduct caused serious or potentially serious injury. The district court correctly noted that Gilbert’s actions caused injury to his clients, the public, the legal profession, and the legal system. It found

that Gilbert’s conduct c aused direct pecuniary harm to the Foundation. To this day, the Foundation has not been able to collect

and use the $30,000 taken from its bank accounts to pay Gilbert. Further, the court found that Gilbert’s disregard of multiple court

orders caused serio us injury to the legal profession, legal system, and the public by creating a gene ral mistrust of attorneys and the operation of the legal system. Last, the district court concluded that Gilbert’s representation in spite of multiple conflicts of interest

“ causes at least potential injury to the clients, and actual injury to the legal system and the profession, by creating distrust of the system and lawyers.”

¶47 We concur with the district court. The attorney, as

an officer of the court, “has the right to set the judicial machinery in

motion i n behalf of another.” In re Integration & Governance of Utah

State Bar , 632 P.2d 845, 847 (Utah 1981). “ To function properly in the administration of justice the courts must retain cont rol of

their officers ,” including those attorney s appearing before the court.

Id. When attorneys knowingly ignore a court order, it promotes distrust of the legal system and attorneys

. Simply stated, Gilbert has

not demonstrated that his conduct should not trigger the presumption of disbarment under rule 14

- 605 (a) of the Supreme

Court Rules of Professional Practice.

¶48 Gilbert next argues that, even if the disbarment presumption were to attach, his conduc t does not merit disbarment. He argues that we have generally order ed disbarment where attorneys have misappropriate d client funds or act ed in an otherwise fraudulent or

dishonest manner. See, e.g.

, In re Discipline of Babilis , 951 P.2d 207 , 217 (Utah 1997) (imposing the sanction of disbarment against an at torney for his intentional misappropriation of client funds)

. Gilbert

_____________________________________________________________

5 Sufficient evidence also supports the district court’s conclusion that Gilbert acted with the intent to benefit himself. Indeed, Gilbert

has offered no other justification for retaining the $30,000

.Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

16 distinguishes his conduct from situations where attorneys have been disbarred for pilfering monies out of client trust accounts. Gilbert’s argument is, in essence, that because his condu ct did not amount to outright theft, he cannot be disb arred. This is simply incorrect.

Gilbert finds himself i n the position he is in not because $30,000 found its way into his personal bank account. Gilbert faces discipline because he knew that the $30,00 0 his clients used to pay him came

from bank accounts that the district court had ordered the Individual Defendants to refrain from accessing. He also faces discipline because he ignored the district court’s orders requiring him to return

the wrongfully ta ken funds.

¶49 Although we are unaware of any case in which we have considered the sanction for an attorney who accepts and retains funds in violation of a court order, we have ordered disbarment when an attorney has willfully refused to comply with a court o rder.

See In re Johnson , 830 P.2d 262 , 263

– 64 (Utah 1992). In Johnson , a district court suspended an attorney from the practice of law. Id. at 263. We determined that the attorney’s “continued

. . . practice [of] law in flagrant disregard” of the court’s s uspension order violated the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct, and we concluded that “[i]n the interest of protection of the public and the legal profession, this court must therefore order [the attorney’s] disbarment.” Id. at 263

– 64. We came to this conclusion despite the attorney’s argument that disbarment was inappropriate because he possessed a good faith belief that he could show good cause for disregarding the suspension order. See id. at 263.

¶50 O ther courts have ordered disbarmen t for conduct similar to

Gilbert’s. In Cuyahoga County Bar Ass ’ n v. Wagner , 884 N.E.2d 1053 (Ohio 2008), the Ohio Supreme Court permanently disbarred an attorney for his failure to comply with a district court’s order requiring him to return a client fee. See id. at 105 5

– 56

. The attorney represented a client before a United States Bankruptcy Court. After the attorney failed to respond to the bankruptcy court’s requests and

fail ed to appear before the court, the court found the attorney in contempt “and orde red him to return the client’s fee.” Id. at 1054. The attorney did not

. Id. The Ohio Supreme Court concluded, “[The attorney’s] conduct in this matter

. . . reflects a lack of regard for the ethical and professional standards required of members of the bar .”

Id. at 1055. The court therefore ordered that the attorney be permanently disbarred from the practice of law. See id. at 1055

– 56.Cite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

17 ¶51 Similarly, in Florida Bar v. Bailey , 803 So. 2d 683 (Fla. 2001),

F. Lee Bailey was disbarred for, among other things, his f ailure t o obey two federal court orders, s ee id. at 69 5 . Bailey was ordered by

the district court to hold and not disburse assets related to an ongoing court case. Id. at 693. Another court order required Bailey to bring all designated assets to a court hearing. I d. Bailey subsequently

“ took no action to segregate or safeguard ” the funds. Id. The Supreme Court of Florida concluded that “[e] ven if Bailey felt that he

was entitled to the [funds] in his personal account , this does not permit him to act in contravention of two federal court orders. ” Id. The court reasoned, “ [ A ]n attorney is not permitted to ignore and refuse to follow a court order based upon his personal belief in t he invalidity of that order. To countenance that course is to court pandemonium and a breakdown of the judicial system.” Id. ( citation omitted). In imposing disbarment, the court concluded that Bailey’s

“ disregard of [the judge’s] orders demonstrate [d] a d isturbing lack of respect for the justice system and how it operates. ” Id. at 694; s ee also In re Nalls , 145 So. 3d 1011 (La. 2014) (disbarring an attorney for

his “k nowing [] and willful [] attempt [] to practice law in disregard of

this court ’ s order of sus pension ” due to it manifesting a “ conscious intent to flout the authority of ” the court); In re Disciplinary Action Against Lundeen , 811 N.W.2d 602, 608 (Minn. 2012) (concluding that a

“ failure to comply with c ourt orders is a ‘serious violation’ and that

‘ repeated fail ure to comply with court orders’ is itself a ground

for disbarment ”); In re Klagsbrun , 717 N.Y.S.2d 297, 299 (App. Div. 2000) (“ The respondent ’ s repeated disregard of court orders and rules constitutes misconduct that goes to the heart of the judicial system and warrants his disbarment. ”); In re Rich , 559 A.2d 1251, 1257 (Del. 1989) (ordering the disbarment of an attorney for, among other things, his disregard of multiple orders of the Delaware Supreme Court

, because the attorney’s actions “in dicate[ d ] a lack of regard for the pro fession which he has damaged”).

¶52 Even though we agree with Gilbert that his conduct presents a different factual scenario from many cases in which we have ordered disbarment, we do not agree with his contention that a

l esser sanction is therefore appropriate. We also agree with the

district court that the aggravating and mitigating circumstances support the conclusion that disbarment is the appropriate sanctionDiscipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

18 for Gilbert’s conduct

. 6 “[T]he distinction between disbarmen t . . . and suspension . . . lies, in part, in ‘ the attorney’s motive and in the relative severity of the conduct. ’ ” In re Discipline of Doncouse , 2004 UT 77, ¶ 16, 99 P.3d 837 (citation omitted)

. We have held that “ [t] o justify a departure from the presumptive level of discipline set forth in the Standards, the aggravating and mitigating factors must be significant.” In re Discipline of Ince , 957 P.2d 1233, 1237

– 38 (Utah 1998).

¶53 The district court found as aggravators : (1 ) Gilbert’s selfish motive in disregarding the Injunction

, (2) Gilbert ’s violati ons of

multi ple r ules of p rofessional c onduct

, (3) Gilbert’s refusal to acknowledge any wrongdoing or demonstrate remorse for his

conduct

, (4) Gilbert’s substantial experience in the practice of law

, and (5) Gilbert’s failure to comply with the district court’s order of disgorgement or otherwise “rectify the consequences of his misconduct.” The only mitigating circumstances the district court

found w ere Gilbert’s absence of a pr ior disciplinary record and the testimony of family and friends relating to his good character.

¶54 Like the district court, we conclude that the aggravating and mitigating circumstances confirm disbarment as the appropriate

sanction. Here, Gilbert concluded t hat his desire to keep the fees outweighed the court’s interest in resolving and bringing finality to the dispute. Indeed, Gilbert’s willingness to continually disregard

the district court’s order s is extremely troubling conduct for an

_____________________________________________________________

6 Gilbert’s disbarment is also consistent with the underlying goals of our rules of professional conduct.

T he purpose of imposing lawyer sanctions is to ensure and maintain the high standard of professional conduct required of those who undertake the discha rge of professional responsibilities as lawyers, and to protect the public and the administration of justice from lawyers who have demonstrated by their conduct that they are unable or likely to be unable to discharge properly their professional responsibi lities.

S UP

. C T

. R. P ROF ’ L P RAC TICE 14

- 602(b).Cite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

19 officer of the court

. Gilbert’s actions demonstrated a lack of respect

for the district court and the legal system as a whole. 7

¶55 But Gilbert’s lack of remorse and his unwillingness to recognize his actions’ consequences constitute the most powerful aggravating circumstance s . At no point in the proceedings below, or in those before this court, has Gilbert acknowledged an attorney’s obligation to comply with court orders. At no time has he acknowledged that our system suffers when attorneys refuse to comply with court orders. Ultimately, it is this lack of respect for the

rule of law and the legal process that warrants Gilbert’s disbarment. Otherwise, to paraphrase the Florida Supreme Court, “t o

countenance [this blatant disregard of the court’s authority] is to court pandemoni um and a breakdown of the judicial system .” Bailey

, 803 So. 2d at 693 (citation omitted)

.
III. THE DISTRICT CO URT DID NOT ERR IN D ISMISSING

GILBERT’S THIRD

- PARTY COMPLAINT

AGAINST THE FOUNDATION

¶56 Gilbert argues that the district court erred by dismissing h is
third

- party complaint. 8 Gilbert contends rule 21 of the Utah Rules of

_____________________________________________________________

7 In fact, in 2008, the district court emphasized that Gilbert needed to comply with the court’s orders or face the consequences. The court stated, “I don’t mean to be offensive but you can’t just make up you r own sets of rules and do what you want to do. If you didn’t get it solved and worked out, that’s why you’re here. All right?” Gilbert responded, “Judge, please understand, I would never intentionally ignore a court order. I’m an officer of the court.” Th e district court sagely predicted, “You could possibly get disbarred for it.”

8 This is not the first time this Court has had the opportunity to

examine Gilbert’s third

- party complaint. See In re Discipline of Gilbert v. Utah Down Syndrome Found ., Inc. , 20 12 UT 81, 301 P.3d 979. In that case, we reversed the district court’s decision to grant Gilbert’s third

party impleader of the Foundation in this disciplinary action. Id. ¶ 28. We concluded that a third

- party complaint is not appropriate in a disciplinary proceeding and directed the district court to dismiss

Gilbert’s third

- party complaint. Id. ¶¶ 25, 28

– 29. On remand the

district court dismissed Gilbert’s third

- party complaint without prejudice by granting the Foundation’s previously denied Motion to (continued . . .)Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

20 Civil Procedure required the district court to sever, rather than dismiss, his third

- party complaint. We disagree. 9

¶57 Rule 21 states,

Misjoinder of parties is not ground for dismissal of an action. Parties may be dropped or added by order of the court on motion of any party or of its own initiative at any stage of the action and on such terms as are just. Any claim against a party may be severed and proceeded with separately.

U TAH R. C I V

. P. 21.

¶58 Gilbert argues that rule 21’s language, “Misjoinder of parties is not ground for dismissal of an action,” mandates severance and prohibits dismissal of a third

- party complaint. Gilbert ignores, however, that the dismissal referenced in that sent ence is the original action, not a third

- party claim attempted to be joined to the underlying action

. In other words, r ule 21 provides that misjoinder of a party is not a bas is to dismiss an entire action. See Acevedo v. Allsup’s Convenience Stores, Inc.

, 600 F.3d 516, 522

– 23 (5 th Cir. 2010) (holding that a district court erred by dismissing an “entire action, rather than simply dismissing the claims of any misjoined plaintiffs”); Clay v. Martin , 509 F.2d 109, 113 (2d Cir. 1975) (concluding that a complaint could not be dismissed based only on the presence of “improper parties”); Sabolsky v. Budzanoski , 457 F.2d 1245, 1249 (3d Cir. 1972) (“ Misjoinder or non

- joinder of parties is not ground for dismissal. The proper remedy in case of misjoinder is to
grant se verance or dismissal to the improper party

. . . . ” (citation omitted)); 7 C HARLES A LAN W RIGHT
, A RTHUR R. M ILLER & M ARY K AY
K ANE
, F EDERAL P RACTICE AND P ROCEDURE §§ 1683

– 84 (3d ed. 2001 ).

Rule 21 derives from the federal equity rules and the English rules o f

_____________________________________________________________
Dism iss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) or, in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment.

9 Gilbert also complains that the district court prematurely granted summary judgment to the Foundation. This argument misapprehends the record. Although the Foundation styl ed its pleading as both a motion to dismiss and a motion for summary judgment, the court’s order indicates that it granted only the motion

to dismiss.Cite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

21 practice existing at the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure. See id. § 1681. In contrast to those at common law, these

rules “ generally allowed [a] plaintiff to amend the complaint to correct a defect in parties. As a result, an action could proceed on its merits despite an initial misjoinder or nonjoinder whenever the error could be corrected without adversely affecting the parties to the

action. ” Id. The district court correctly applied rule 21 and did not err by dismissing G ilbert’s third

- party complaint.

¶59 Gilbert also appears to argue that even if rule 21 does not mandate severance, the district court abused its discretion in dismissing, rather than severing

, his third

- party complaint. Rule 21 provides, “ Any clai m against a party may be severed and proceeded with separately. ” U TAH R. C IV

. P. 21. 10 A party challenging the district court’s decision to dismiss, rather than sever, must show that

the court abused its discretion. See 7 C HARLES A LAN W RIGHT
, A RTHUR
R. M ILL ER & M ARY K AY K ANE
, F EDERAL P RACTICE AND P ROCEDURE § 1688 (3d ed. 2001 ) (concluding that “[t] he grant or denial of a motion to bring in or to drop a party lies in the discretion of the judge” and that “[t] he trial court ’ s exercise of discretion will not be disturbed on appeal unless an abuse is shown ”); Strandlund v. Hawley , 532 F.3d 741, 745 (8th Cir. 2008) (“ We review the district

court ’ s order dismissing appellants for misjoinder under an abuse of

discretion standard. ”).

¶60 Oth er courts to have considered this question have

concluded that a trial court abuses its discretion only w here the

district court’s dismissal of a third

- party complaint prejudices a party, such as by preventing the refiling of the dismissed party’s

claim

. See Strandlund

, 532 F.3d at 74 5 ; see also DirecTV, Inc. v. Leto , 467 F.3d 842, 845

– 46 (3d. Cir. 2006); Elmore v. Henderson , 227 F.3d 1009, 1012 (7th Cir. 2000).

¶61 In Strandlund , the court was required to determine whether

the district court “ was permitted to drop appellants from the ca se or whether it should merely have severed their claims .” 532 F.3d at 745

. The court concluded that rule 21 permits the dismissal of a party or

_____________________________________________________________

10 Rule 21 also provides, “ Parties may be dropped or added by order of the court on motion of any party or of its own initiative at any stage of the action and on such terms as are just. ” U TAH R. C IV

. P.

21.Discipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

22 claim rather than a severance of a claim if the dismissal “ will not prejudice any substantial right

. ” Id. (cita tion omitted). A substantial right is prejudiced , the court determined, “ if dismissal of misjoined parties were to result in the loss of otherwise timely claims. ” Id. The

court concluded that the district court had deprived the dismissed parties of a substantial right because the statute of limitations ha d

run on their claims and the dismissal would prevent them from proceeding with claims that were originally filed within the statute

of limitations. Id. at 746.

¶62 Gilbert does not claim that the distr ict court’s dismissal of

his third

- party complaint without prejudice in any way prevented him from filing his claim against the Foundation as an independent

action. Indeed, Gilbert does not claim any prejudice flowing from the

district court’s dismissal

. B ecause Gilbert does not argue that he was prevented from re filing his claim against the Foundation after the

court’s dismissal of his third

- party complaint without prejudice, the OPC is correct to note that “the correct way . . . to pursue those

claims” wa s to “refile the matter.”

¶63 The district court did not contravene rule 21 of the Utah

Rules of Civil Procedure or otherwise abuse its discretion by dismissing, without prejudice, Gilbert’s third

- party complaint against the Foundation

. Because Gilbert has no t claimed that any prejudice flows from the district court’s dismissal of his third

- party claim, he has failed to demonstrate that t he court abused its

discretion. 11

IV. THE DISTRICT COU RT DID NOT ABUSE ITS DISCRETION IN

DECLINING TO STAY TH E DISCIPLINARY ACTION

¶64 Gilbert also contends that the district court erred by declining to stay the disciplinary proceedings until he could bring

and resolve his complaint against the Foundation

. In attorney discipline proceedings, “[u] pon a showing of good cause, a forma l action or a disability proceeding may be stayed because of substantial similarity to the material allegations of a pending

_____________________________________________________________

11 Gilbert also claims he was denied due process in the dismissal

of his third

- party complaint because he was not provided a notice or hearing prior to the district court’s grant of the Foundation ’s motion to dismiss. This contention is inadequately briefed. See State v.

Timmerman , 2009 UT 58, ¶ 25 n.5, 218 P.3d 590.Cite as: 2016 UT 32

Opinion of the Court

23 criminal, civil, or disciplinary action. ” S UP

. C T

. R. P ROF ’ L
P RAC TICE 14

– 517 ( d ). The district court’s decision to grant or deny a

s tay is discretionary, and we will not disturb it unless we determine

the district court abused its discretion. See Lewis v. Moultree , 627 P.2d
94, 96

– 97 (Utah 1981).

¶65 The district court declined to grant Gilbert’s motion to stay

the d isciplinary proceeding s because it concluded,

[E]ven if everything is as [Gilbert] alleges, this C ourt is not required to issue a stay on the disciplinary matters.

. . . Whether [Gilbert] violated a court order when it was in effect is a matter for the disciplinary proceeding

a nd has little to do with [ his ] appeal against [the Foundation] . Should [Gilbert ] succeed on appeal against [the Foundation] , his appeal would not affect the issues in the disciplinary case against [him]

. ¶66 The district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to stay the disciplinary proceeding. In essence, Gilbert contends that if he could have proceeded against the Foundation, he would have

established facts that would have undermine d the district c ourt’s

conclusions that he violated the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct. Gilbert contends that he would have established that the Chapters were independent entities and that the Chapters, not the Foundation,

were the owners of the funds

. ¶67 Gilbert is wrong to suggest that either of these findings

, if

established

, would have undermine d the district court’s conclusions

or dictated a different outcome. Even if we were to assume that

Gilbert’s contentions are correct

, they would not have changed the

distri ct court ’s ultimate conclusions. Gilbert’s violations of the Utah

Rules of Professional Conduct do not turn on whether the Injunction and the disgorgement order were correctly entered

. Rather, the violations stem from the manner in which Gilbert represente d his clients, from his failure to safeguard disputed funds, and from his choice to disregard multiple court orders without putting the court or his opposing counsel on notice. Because the issues Gilbert wanted to litigate against the Foundation would not have impacted the district court’s analysis, the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to stay the disciplinary proceedings.

CONCLUSION

¶68 Gilbert represented clients when he had a direct personal interest that conflicted with his representa tion of th ose clients, heDiscipline of D ONALD D. G ILBERT
, J R

. Opinion of the Court

24 disregarded the Injunction

, and he facilitated his client’s violation of the Injunction by accepting funds subject to that order . And Gilbert

, to this day, has disregarded the district court’s order requiring that he disgorge the attorney fees he received from his clients. Regardless of the validity of the Injunction and disgorgement order

, the Utah Rules of Professional Conduct require that Gilbert not knowingly disregard those orders without making his intentions known to the district court and opposing counsel. While we recognize that

disb arment is a severe punishment, it is appropriate here. We affirm

the district court’s order and conclude that disbarment is the proper sanction for Gilbert’s mis conduct.