Opinion ID: 1352489
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: First is the matter of lawyer discipline generally.

Text: [1] This court is the ultimate authority on lawyer discipline in this state. [2] This court will adopt the recommendation of the Disciplinary Board unless the court is clearly persuaded by one or more of the following  Noble  factors [3] that the sanction recommended by the Disciplinary Board is inappropriate: (1) The purposes of attorney discipline (sanction must protect the public and deter other attorneys from similar misconduct); (2) The proportionality of the sanction to the misconduct (sanction must not depart significantly from sanctions imposed in similar cases); (3) The effect of the sanction on the attorney (sanction must not be clearly excessive); (4) The record developed by the hearing panel (sanction must be fairly supported by the record and must not be based upon considerations not supported by the record); and (5) The extent of agreement among the members of the board (sanction supported by unanimous recommendation will not be rejected in the absence of clear reasons.) [4]