Opinion ID: 2764891
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Coordination of Sanctions.

Text: Wright has the following sanctions presently pending against him. The first is a temporary suspension issued on August 16, 2012, for failing to comply with requests for documents from the client security commission that were needed to complete an audit of his client trust account. The second is a temporary suspension issued on February 7, 2013, for threat of harm pending a final disposition of the disciplinary proceeding on this matter. The basis of this suspension was his unauthorized practice of law and trust account activity while under the August 2012 suspension. Both these suspensions are still in effect. We issued the third suspension on December 6, 2013, for engaging in representation of his clients in violation of conflict of interest rules and engaging in misrepresentation or deceit resulting in a client’s financial loss. In this suspension, we stated Wright’s license to practice law was suspended with no possibility of reinstatement for a period of no less than twelve months, and it was to begin after we lifted the August 2012 temporary suspension. Wright, 840 N.W.2d at 303. The last suspension is the one we issue today for Wright’s continued practice of law while his license was suspended and for various trust account violations. Without deciding a definite time for this suspension, we noted this suspension should be more than one year, but less than two years. Upon the filing of this opinion, we are terminating the August 16, 2012 suspension for failing to comply with the requests for documents from the client security commission that were needed to complete an audit of his client trust account. We reach this conclusion because when 13 we temporarily suspended Wright’s license on February 7, 2013, for the unauthorized practice of law and irregularities in his trust account, we also entered an order appointing a trustee to gather all of Wright’s trust account records and make an accounting to the client security commission. Under these circumstances, Wright has provided those records to the client security commission, thus, allowing us to lift the August 16, 2012 suspension. Wright’s February 7, 2013 temporary suspension for practicing while his license was suspended and various trust account violations was to continue pending the outcome of this disciplinary proceeding. Because this opinion concludes the pending disciplinary proceeding, we lift the February 7, 2013 suspension. We also found Wright violated our rules and that his license should be suspended because of these violations for a period of at least one year but less than two years. When we order an attorney’s temporary suspension pending the outcome of a disciplinary proceeding for the same conduct, we should give credit for the time served for the temporary suspension if the time served equals or exceeds the appropriate sanction. See Comm. on Prof’l Ethics & Conduct v. Halleck, 325 N.W.2d 117, 118 (Iowa 1982). But see Iowa Supreme Ct. Att’y Disciplinary Bd. v. Powell, 830 N.W.2d 355, 359–60 (Iowa 2013) (holding the time served during the temporary suspension for conduct intertwined in the current case did not equal or exceed the appropriate sanction, and therefore, the interim suspension “can be considered as a mitigating factor in determining the length and adequacy of a suspension as a sanction in the case”). We suspended Wright’s license to practice law on February 7, 2013, for practicing law while his license was suspended and for various trust account violations. This period of temporary suspension 14 constitutes a sufficient minimum period of suspension for Wright’s misconduct. Accordingly, we will consider Wright’s suspension for practicing law while his license was suspended and for various trust account violations served. These findings still leave Wright with the December 6, 2013 suspension of his license to practice law with no possibility of reinstatement for a period of no less than twelve months that does not begin until after we lift the August 2012 suspension. Upon the filing of this opinion, we lift the August 2012 suspension. Therefore, from the date of filing this opinion, Wright shall begin serving his suspension pursuant to the terms of our December 6 opinion.