Opinion ID: 835498
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Lawyer Trust Account

Text: On February 25, 2000, the accused opened a trust account with U.S. Bank in Gresham. The accused advised the bank that he wanted to open an interest-bearing lawyer trust account, and the bank labeled the account CHRISTOPHER SKAGEN BENEF, CLIENT LTAB ACCOUNT, CHRISTPHER SKAGEN ATTORNEY AT LAW TSTEE. The bank's internal code LTAB denoted that the account was a lawyer trust account; however, the account name, the accused's checks, and the accused's monthly statements all failed to include the designation Lawyer Trust Account. Pursuant to DR 9-101(D)(2)(c), the interest on lawyer trust accounts is to be paid to the Oregon Law Foundation (OLF). Due to a bank error, no interest was earned on the account or paid to the OLF until May 2004. Between February 2000 and April 2004, the accused never reconciled his monthly statements and, therefore, never verified whether the bank was in compliance with his original instructions to set up an interest-bearing account with the name Lawyer Trust Account. Moreover, when asked at his deposition whether he had maintained a trust account ledger for all client funds kept in his lawyer trust account, the accused reported that he had kept track of his, clients' account balances in his head. When asked whether that approach complied with the relevant disciplinary rule, the accused replied: I don't know. I don't think it complies entirely.    I haven't thought about that. Finally, the accused stated that he had deposited personal funds in his lawyer trust account on a handful of occasions. In November 2001, the accused made out three checks to himself in the amounts of $450, $250, and $50, drawing down the balance in his lawyer trust account to $46.13. [3] That amount was insufficient to cover funds belonging to the accused's clients, including Anderson, that should have been in the account.