Opinion ID: 2602034
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Testimony of Petitioner

Text: Petitioner was born in Harvey, Illinois in 1960 and grew up in a well-rounded family. He graduated from Calvin College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983 and thereafter attended the Indiana University School of Law. Petitioner worked for a law firm, a federal magistrate, and a public defender's office during law school, but still performed well and graduated with honors in 1986. Petitioner passed the Colorado Bar Examination in 1986 and began practicing as an associate attorney with a general practice law firm in Denver. In 1990, Petitioner entered into a law partnership with Stephen Caplin, a former employer from his law school days. Mr. Caplin remained in Indianapolis, Indiana, while Petitioner managed a new law office in Colorado. Petitioner was in his early thirties at the time and without any prior law office management experience. He began with one secretary/paralegal and within a few years had a 5000 square foot office with five employees. In 1996, Petitioner began experiencing serious cash flow problems, which affected his ability to pay his staff, lease, and other overhead expenses. He asked Mr. Caplin for assistance, but Mr. Caplin informed Petitioner that he needed to be self-sufficient. At this point, Petitioner admittedly crossed the line and began using client funds to pay his expenses. He would replenish the funds after settling cases, but the situation eventually snowballed and resulted in the misappropriation of funds belonging to several clients. During this time, Petitioner kept his actions hidden from Mr. Caplin, his wife, his family, and his friends. He felt a great deal of stress and guilt for his actions. In 1996, Allstate Insurance filed a Request for Investigation with the People. In response to a subpoena from the People, Petitioner added, insult to injury by sending the People fraudulent bank statements. He later admitted his actions and produced the proper records. The Colorado Supreme Court immediately suspended Petitioner from the practice of law on February 3, 1997. Nevertheless, Petitioner continued to practice law for several weeks with the hopes of settling a large personal injury claim, which would allow him to replenish his COLTAF account. He failed to tell anyone about his immediate suspension. Mr. Caplin became aware of the immediate suspension in May 1997 and immediately locked Petitioner out of the law office and began informing clients, opposing counsel, and the courts of the situation. Petitioner then decided to meet with the People and fully disclose all of the facts and documents demonstrating the extent of his misconduct. He fully cooperated with the People from this point forward. Petitioner contacted his clients, informed them of his suspension, and assisted them in obtaining new counsel. With assistance from the People, Petitioner also established a fund that would distribute all funds generated from legal work performed before his suspension to his clients. The creation of this fund resulted in full restitution for all of his clients. Petitioner entered into a stipulation with the People in late 1998. As stated above, the Colorado Supreme Court approved the stipulation and disbarred Petitioner from the practice of law on February 16, 1999. Petitioner later met with the Arapahoe County District Attorney's office without precondition and confessed to his misconduct against the advice of counsel. In January 2000, he pled guilty to felony theft (F3) and the court sentenced him to six years in the Department of Corrections. Petitioner served ten months before a sentencing court granted his motion for reconsideration and sentenced him to Community Corrections for six years without parole. He began in a halfway house and worked for a Discount Tire shop until he transferred to non-residential intensive probation in March 2001. He earned the maximum amount of good time and completed his sentence in 2004. Petitioner's actions seriously affected his family. He was unemployed for an extended period of time and the family struggled financially. Petitioner finally found a job working in automobile sales, but he lost this job after pleading guilty to a felony. His wife divorced him in 2001, but he re-married in 2003. Petitioner experienced significant depression and anxiety during this time and received only limited counseling from his father, a pastor, and briefly from a counselor in 2001. Petitioner admittedly failed to properly wind-up his legal matters at the time the Colorado Supreme Court disbarred him. However, Petitioner had no clients or court matters in 1999, because he had not been practicing law for nearly two years. In its disbarment order, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered Petitioner to pay costs in the amount of $2,683.25. Petitioner signed a payment plan in 1999 to pay $400.00 per month towards the costs. Petitioner failed to pay these costs until the People advised him that they remained outstanding after he filed his petition for readmission. Petitioner thereafter paid the outstanding costs in April 2008. In March 2001, Petitioner began working for Advanced Professional Services (APS). APS provided billing services for 80-85 healthcare providers. Petitioner became responsible for disputed insurance claims for general medical, workers' compensation, and automobile claims. In 2003, Petitioner became an independent contractor for 15-20 doctor offices and when the no-fault law sunsetted on July 1, 2003, it became more of a lien-based practice. Petitioner works with attorneys to confirm balances owed, provide records, and negotiate settlements on behalf of the medical professionals he represents. The medical professionals have given him full authority to settle matters, despite their knowledge of Petitioner's past felony conduct. This includes the authority to seek equitable distributions that benefit the patient. Petitioner annually collects checks totaling $2-3 million; he makes deposits, and provides monthly statements to the medical professionals. In 2007, Petitioner began working as a paralegal for the law firm of Bell & Wright, a general practice law firm. He drafts letters to opposing counsel and clients and performs legal research. If readmitted to the practice of law, Petitioner may work part-time as an associate or of counsel with the firm. Petitioner would like to be able to provide legal assistance for the doctors when they have simple interpleader matters, or to his family and/or friends when they ask him for help. He does not intend to practice as a solo practitioner. Petitioner has also created a limited liability corporation with Joseph Ramos, M.D., to fund medical services for injured persons in return for a portion of the injured clients' recovery from parties responsible for the injury. This funding company is in its early stages, but Petitioner assured the Hearing Board that Dr. Ramos would supply personal funds to the company in the event they became necessary. As stated above, Petitioner successfully passed the February 2007 Colorado Bar Examination and successfully passed the August 2007 Multi-state Professional Responsibility Examination. He has also attended several Continuing Legal Education courses without receiving credit, followed developments in various legal publications, and completed the mandatory course on professionalism. [4] With regard to rehabilitation, Petitioner noted that he has not engaged in any disciplinary or criminal misconduct since the date of his disbarment. He repeatedly apologized and fully accepted responsibility for his misconduct. Petitioner expressed deep remorse for his conduct and acknowledged that he harmed his clients, his family, the legal profession, the courts, and the citizens of Colorado. Petitioner has since engaged in various acts of community service by serving as a parent counselor, volunteering with his church and providing personal services to those in need. Petitioner is presently struggling with his finances. He provides the sole source of income for his family and is currently behind on his home and automobile payments. A significant tax lien has also been entered against Petitioner, most of which came from the same time period as his misconduct. He has paid $200.00 per month toward the tax lien since November 2007. Nevertheless, Petitioner believes that he is in a much better position to handle any financial emergency in an appropriate manner.