Opinion ID: 1292667
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Misappropriation and Theft of Funds.

Text: Petitioner's misappropriation of client funds alone constitutes a serious ethical and moral violation, breaches the high duty of loyalty that attorneys owe their clients, and puts in peril the public confidence in the practice of law. (3) This court has long held that, absent compelling mitigating circumstances, misappropriation of client trust funds by an attorney warrants disbarment. ( In re Basinger (1988) 45 Cal.3d 1348, 1358 [249 Cal. Rptr. 110, 756 P.2d 833]; In re Vaughn (1985) 38 Cal.3d 614, 618-619 [213 Cal. Rptr. 583, 698 P.2d 651]; In re Abbott (1971) 19 Cal.3d 249, 253-254 [137 Cal. Rptr. 195, 561 P.2d 285].) The Standards for Attorney Sanctions for Professional Misconduct (Rules Proc. of State Bar, div. V [hereafter Standards; all further references to standards are to this source]) similarly suggest that the willful misappropriation of entrusted client funds should result in disbarment unless the funds are insignificantly small or the most compelling mitigating circumstances clearly predominate.