Opinion ID: 2369759
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: KRPC 5.5(a), KRPC 8.1(b), KRPC 8.4(c)

Text: The respondent also disputes the hearing panel's determination that he violated KRPC 5.5(a) (unauthorized practice of law), 8.1(b) (bar admission and disciplinary matters), and 8.4(c) (misconduct). With respect to these three rules, the respondent asserts in his brief that the hearing panel's findings collectively benefit from the same strict interpretation by the Disciplinary Prosecutor . . . reliance on the prior cases from 1990 and 2008, to show a pattern . . . by the Disciplinary Administrator indicating almost a vendetta against the respondent. He does not cite any evidentiary support for this contention, and we find no support. All the complaints docketed against the respondent were initiated by parties outside the office of the Disciplinary Administrator. The complaints in the present case, for example, were forwarded to the Disciplinary Administrator by the Court of Appeals and Tracy Diel, Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings. The respondent has previously been disciplined three times. In 1987, the respondent was informally admonished for neglecting an estate matter for a period of 5 years. In 1993, the respondent was placed on probation for 18 months for neglecting four cases. In 2008, the respondent was indefinitely suspended from the practice of law for failing to distribute the net proceeds of an estate for a period of 7 years. In re Jones, 286 Kan. 544, 186 P.3d 746 (2008); In re Jones, 253 Kan. 836, 861 P.2d 1340 (1993). There is no evidence of a vendetta against the respondent.