Opinion ID: 1497626
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Suspension is Appropriate Discipline in this Case

Text: Even though this case is unique in the quantity and type of mitigation present, this Court must reject Mr. Belz's argument that a stayed suspension with probation is proper. As this Court and many others have recognized, misappropriation of client funds presents a paramount risk to the integrity of the legal profession. Our profession relies intrinsically on the trust that clients are willing to place in their lawyers, and few acts of misconduct have the capacity to erode that trust more quickly and thoroughly than the conversion of a client's funds to one's own use. Even when such conduct is recorded properly and undertaken in a manic state, as it was here, this Court condemns this conduct in the strongest possible terms. Mr. Belz acted with a dishonest and selfish motive in taking his clients' funds, he did so multiple times, and he had substantial experience with the law. A stayed suspension is simply not appropriate for this type of misconduct. In this case, an unusual array of compelling mitigating factors has collided with extreme and gross misconduct unbecoming of a member of the bar. Under the unique facts of this case, this Court concludes that the appropriate sanction is to suspend Mr. Belz from the practice of law indefinitely without leave to apply for reinstatement for three years. In addition to the conditions for reinstatement set forth in Rule 5.28, Mr. Belz must establish that he has continued to receive effective treatment for his bipolar disorder through the duration of his suspension and, as a part of any application for reinstatement, that he will continue such treatment into the future.