Opinion ID: 1578886
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: counts thirteen and fourteen

Text: ¶ 24. The OLD complaint alleged, and Jaconi now stipulates, that in November 2001 D.C. hired Jaconi to represent her in a divorce action for a $1200 flat fee. She paid him $800 of that agreed upon fee. D.C. was thereafter hired by Jaconi to work in his office; however, based on her observations there, she changed her mind about having him represent her in her divorce action. D.C. then requested a refund of the $800 fee she had paid. On December 14, 2001, she met with Jaconi and he gave her a check drawn on his law office account in that amount. Jaconi asked her, however, to wait until December 17, 2001, to cash the check. ¶ 25. After December 17, 2001, D.C. contacted Jaconi's bank on several occasions to determine if there were sufficient funds in his account to cover the check. Each time she was advised that there were not. Jaconi subsequently closed that account on January 2, 2002. Thereafter, D.C. made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Jaconi about the return of her money and about the worthless check he had given her. She subsequently filed a complaint with the Kewaunee County Sheriff's Department. After Jaconi was contacted by the sheriff's department, he returned D.C.'s $800 and also paid the handling fee charged by the sheriff's department. D.C. then withdrew her complaint. ¶ 26. Based on this admitted course of conduct, the OLR complaint charged Jaconi with an additional two counts of professional misconduct, to which he now stipulates: COUNT THIRTEEN: By failing to have sufficient funds in his law office account to cover the $800 refund check he issued to D.C., and by not returning those funds to D.C. Until she had filed a complaint with the Kewanee County Sheriff's Department, Jaconi failed to take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client's interests, and failed to refund an advance payment of fee that had not been earned, in violation of SCR 20:1.16(d). COUNT FOURTEEN: By providing to D.C. his $800 check on his law firm account that Jaconi knew could not be cashed, Jaconi engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, in violation of SCR 20:8.4(c).