SUPREME COURT 

OF 

NEVADA 

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA 

IN THE MATTER OF DISCIPLINE OF No. 69152 

D. BRIAN BOGGESS, BAR NO. 4537. FILED 

JAN 2 2 2016 

T K INDE 

BY isl e tat" 

DE 

ORDER APPROVING CONDITIONAL GUILTY PLEA AGRE ENT 

This is an automatic review of a Southern Nevada 

Disciplinary Board hearing panel's recommendation that this court 

approve, pursuant to SCR 113, a conditional guilty plea agreement in 

exchange for a stated form of discipline for attorney D. Brian Boggess. 

Under the agreement, Boggess admitted to multiple violations of RPC 1.3 

(diligence), RPC 1.15 (safekeeping property), and RPC 8.4 (misconduct). 

Boggess was admitted to practice law in Nevada in 1992. As 

the result of bookkeeping errors starting in 2009, the balance in Boggess' 

trust account repeatedly fell below the amount that should have been in 

the account on behalf of multiple clients. During the relevant time, 

Boggess was not reviewing his trust account statements. When he learned 

of the errors, he obtained a personal loan in the amount of $75,000 and 

deposited the money into his trust account. Additionally, during the same 

time period, three clients complained to the State Bar that Boggess failed 

to diligently pursue the matters for which he had been retained. The plea 

agreement and information provided to the hearing panel indicate that no 

clients suffered financial loss or other injury. 

Under the plea agreement, Boggess agreed to a 24-month 

suspension with all but 3-months stayed, provided that he successfully 

(D) I947A e 1 - DZSZ 
completes a two-year probationary period. He further agreed to the 

following conditions during the probationary period: (1) he must perform 

and pay for an audit of his trust accounts for the two-year period 

immediately preceding the entry of his conditional guilty plea and present 

the results of that audit to the State Bar; (2) if the audit reveals that any 

individuals have suffered a financial loss, he must pay full restitution to 

those individuals; (3) on a quarterly basis, he must provide itemized 

statements for his trust accounts, copies of cancelled checks, deposit slips, 

settlement disbursement sheets, and any invoices needed to justify 

disbursements from the account, and any other records the State Bar may 

demand as necessary to ensure that the trust account is sound; (4) he 

must not commit any further disciplinary violations during the 

probationary period; (5) he must complete in person an additional six 

continuing legal education (CLE) hours in law-office management during 

the probation period;" and (6) he must pay the costs of the disciplinary 

proceedings, excluding bar counsel and staff salaries. 

Based on our review of the record, we conclude that the guilty 

plea agreement should be approved. See SCR 113(1). Considering the 

duties violated, Boggess' mental state (negligence), the lack of any actual 

injury to a client, the aggravating circumstances (prior disciplinary 

offenses, 2a pattern of misconduct, multiple offenses, and substantial 

'These CLE hours are in addition to the annual minimum CLE 

requirements set forth in SCR 210. 

2Boggess previously has received three reprimands—one each in 

2007, 2010, and 2013. Those reprimands did not involve violations similar 

to those admitted here but they did involve some of the same lack of 

communication underpinning the client complaints at issue here. 

SUPREME COURT 

OF 

NEVADA 2 

(C9 I947A 
experience in the practice of law), and the mitigating circumstances 

(personal or emotional problems, timely good faith effort to make 

restitution or to rectify consequences of misconduct, delay in disciplinary 

proceedings, and remorse), 3we agree that the discipline set forth above is 

sufficient to serve the purpose of attorney discipline. See In re Discipline 

of Lerner, 124 Nev. 1232, 1246, 197 P.3d 1067, 1077 (2008) (identifying 

four factors that must be weighed in determining the appropriate 

discipline: "the duty violated, the lawyer's mental state, the potential or 

actual injury caused by the lawyer's misconduct, and the existence of 

aggravating or mitigating factors"); ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer 

Sanctions, Compendium of Prof? Responsibility Rules and Standards, 

Standard 4.12 (2015) (providing that absent aggravating or mitigating 

circumstances, "[s]uspension is generally appropriate when a lawyer 

knows or should know that he is dealing improperly with client property 

and causes injury or potential injury to a client"); see also State Bar of Nev. 

v. Claiborne, 104 Nev. 115, 213, 756 P.2d 464, 527-28 (1988) (observing 

that the purpose of attorney discipline is to protect the public, the courts, 

and the legal profession, not to punish the attorney). 4 

3We note that during the years between the misconduct and the 

disciplinary proceedings, Boggess made changes to his practice and 

testified at the formal hearing that he now reviews the account 

reconciliations and trust statements on a monthly basis. 

4Although a reprimand would generally be appropriate for the 

diligence violations, see ABA Standard 4.43 ("Reprimand is generally 

appropriate when a lawyer is negligent and does not act with reasonable 

diligence in representing a client, and causes injury or potential injury to a 

client."), we agree with the hearing . panel that the aggravating factors, 

multiple violations, and pattern of negligence in dealing with client 

property support a suspension. 

SUPREME COURT 

OF 

NEVADA 3 

(0)19(7k e 
-Es-•-t1 

Gibbons 

We hereby impose a 24-month suspension. Boggess shall 

serve three months of the suspension, commencing from the date of this 

order, and the remainder of the suspension shall be stayed pending his 

successful completion of a two-year probationary period. The probationary 

period shall commence upon entry of this order. To successfully complete 

the probationary period, Boggess must comply with all of the conditions in 

the plea agreement, as outlined above. Boggess shall comply with SCR 

115. The State Bar shall comply with SCR 121.1. 

It is so ORDERED. 

a-AA 

Parraguirre 

Saitta 

,J. 

Pickering 1 

cc: Chair, Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board 

Olson, Cannon, Gormley, Angulo & Stoberski 

C. Stanley Hunterton, Bar Counsel, State Bar of Nevada 

Kimberly K. Farmer, Executive Director, State Bar of Nevada 

Perry Thompson, Admissions Office, U.S. Supreme Court 

SUPREME COURT 

OF 

NEVADA 4 

(0) 1.947A