Opinion ID: 1286780
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Kelley Sue Allen Matter

Text: Around August 27, 1992, Kelley Sue Allen retained the respondent to represent her in a dissolution of marriage proceeding. Allen agreed to pay the respondent a $5000 flat fee for him to handle the entire dissolution, with $2,500 to be paid in advance. The fee agreement, which was oral and was never reduced to writing, also provided that Allen would pay an additional $5,000 if child custody became an issue. Allen paid the respondent the initial $2,500 on or about September 27, 1992, with a money order. The respondent cashed the money order on September 27, but the amount was never deposited in the respondent's attorney trust account. Allen filed a request for investigation against the respondent on November 13, 1992, and requested an itemization of attorney fees spent. On December 15, 1992, Allen's new lawyer sent a letter to the respondent asking for the respondent's time slips to substantiate the fees the respondent charged Allen. The respondent provided Allen with an accounting of his charges on January 25, 1993, but he did not produce his time slips because he had destroyed them. The hearing board concluded that the respondent's failure to deposit the unearned advance fee into his trust account violated DR 1-102(A)(4) (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation). Cf. People v. Varallo, 913 P.2d 1, 11 (Colo.1996) (depositing unearned retainers into business operating account, and spending an unearned client retainer, violated DR 9-102(A), which required lawyers to deposit client funds in a separate account). In addition, on and after January 1, 1993, the effective date of the Rules of Professional Conduct, the respondent violated R.P.C. 1.15(a) by failing to maintain appropriate records of Allen's account funds.