Opinion ID: 1742730
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Violations Prior to His First Suspension

Text: In the Knapp matter, D'Angelo intentionally disregarded a court order in violation of DR 7-106(A) when he failed to provide other parties with proper notice of the sale of the property. He also violated DR 1-102(A)(4) (stating a lawyer shall not engage in dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation) and DR 7-102(A)(3), (5) (stating a lawyer shall not knowingly conceal or fail to disclose that which a lawyer is required to reveal or knowingly make a false statement) when he made misrepresentations to the court to obtain an order allowing the sale of the property. D'Angelo also made misrepresentations in the final report in violation of DR 7-102(A)(3), (5). These misrepresentations are particularly egregious when viewed in light of D'Angelo's previous public reprimand for conduct involving dishonesty towards the court. On November 15, 1996, D'Angelo received a public reprimand by drafting and obtaining a judge's signature on a dissolution decree that varied from the parties' stipulation. Similar conduct in this case  obtaining a court's signature on a document which contained misrepresentations  demonstrates D'Angelo did not alter his behavior after the public reprimand.
By abandoning Benson-Blaine's case and failing to seek her lawful objectives, D'Angelo neglected client matters and violated DR 6-101(A)(3) (A lawyer shall not ... [n]eglect a client's legal matter.).
Client funds paid to an attorney must be deposited into an interest-bearing trust account, rather than the firm's operating account, until they are earned. Kadenge, 706 N.W.2d at 408; Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Herrera, 560 N.W.2d 592, 594 (Iowa 1997). D'Angelo's failure to deposit Kemp's payments in a trust account was a violation of DR 9-102(A) (requiring client funds to be deposited to trust account until earned). At least part of the $850 flat fee paid by Kemp had not been earned because the bankruptcy petition was neither filed nor completed. See Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Sullins, 648 N.W.2d 127, 134 (Iowa 2002) ([P]resuming the flat fee is fair, the attorney is entitled to the entire amount when he or she completes the necessary services.); Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Winkel, 599 N.W.2d 456, 459 (Iowa 1999) (A lawyer who takes a fee before it is earned effectively misappropriates the client's funds.). D'Angelo also violated DR 9-102(A) in the Knapp and Roberson matters when he inexplicably lost funds that were supposed to be kept in client trust accounts. D'Angelo also violated DR 9-102(B)(3), (4) (requiring a lawyer to account for and properly return funds to which a client is entitled) in the Kemp matter when he violated Court Rule 35.21( c ) by not refunding unearned fees within 30 days of his suspension. In the Eckert matter, D'Angelo violated Iowa Code section 633.198 when he took fees for his work in a probate matter before he received court authorization. See Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Reese, 657 N.W.2d 457, 461 (Iowa 2003) (stating a lawyer may not take fees for a probate matter until authorized to do so by the court). Because restitution is a lawyer's duty, the fact that D'Angelo paid the money back to these clients after they filed complaints is not a valid defense or excuse for these ethical violations. See Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Stowers, 626 N.W.2d 130, 133 (Iowa 2001). To allow such payments to serve as mitigating factors might imply to the public that an officer of the court can buy his way out of professional difficulties if financially able to do so. Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Havercamp, 442 N.W.2d 67, 72 (Iowa 1989).
In the Roberson matter, we make no finding as to whether D'Angelo personally forged Roberson's signature in order to endorse her check. D'Angelo and the Board provided conflicting expert testimony regarding the exact identity of the forger. We make two findings: Roberson never signed the check, and the check was at all times under the control of D'Angelo's law firm. Based upon these findings and D'Angelo's attempt to pay Roberson only $5600 of the more than $10,000 which he wrongfully held, we conclude D'Angelo misappropriated funds entrusted to him in a professional capacity. The amount misappropriated was at least $2499.64, and likely more because D'Angelo's limited legal work did not warrant a fee of $2779.79. We conclude this fee was excessive in violation of DR 2-106(A) (prohibiting a lawyer from collecting a clearly excessive fee) because D'Angelo did not participate in the California real estate proceeding to obtain a settlement for Roberson and he did not file a bankruptcy petition on Roberson's behalf. He also violated DR 1-102(A)(4) (stating a lawyer shall not engage in dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation) when he billed Roberson for a filing fee for a bankruptcy that was never filed. D'Angelo also violated DR 9-102(B)(4) (failing to promptly pay a client funds they are entitled to receive) when he did not send her the remaining $2449.64 until over three years later when he was directed to do so by the Client Security Commission. It becomes more difficult to attribute misappropriations to sloppiness when client funds repeatedly disappear without explanation. Therefore, based upon his actions in the Roberson matter and the missing $6057.73 in the Eckert matter, we conclude D'Angelo intentionally misappropriated client funds in violation of DR 1-102(A)(3) for illegal conduct involving moral turpitude and DR 1-102(A)(4) for conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.