Court Opinion

ID: 9537601
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 07:20:21.947694+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:56:49.439581
License: Public Domain

BIRD, C. J., Concurring and Dissenting.
I concur in the judgment of the court. However, I do not agree that petitioner’s failure to obtain a written receipt from S amounted to a violation of his oath and duties as an attorney or involved moral turpitude. (See maj. opn., ante, at pp. 331-332.)
Evidence presented at the State Bar hearings showed that petitioner specifically asked his client C about whether to obtain a receipt from S. C replied, “No receipt. She’d be insulted [referring to S]. We’ve been dealing together since 1936, and we’ve been in a lot of tight conditions [szc] together. We’re old friends.”
Thus, petitioner acted according to his client’s express wishes in not asking S for a receipt. Under these circumstances, I fail to see how petitioner’s actions amounted to misconduct and/or moral turpitude. I do not believe that any statutory provision, rule of court, or prior decision of this court requires an attorney, over his client’s objection, to insult an “old friend” of the client.