Stafford v. the State Bar

THE COURT.

This is' a review of the proceedings before The State Bar involving charges against the petitioner as an attorney at law, and of the recommendation of the Board of Governors that the petitioner be disbarred.

The petitioner, at the present time about forty-one years of age, was admitted to practice law in this state in May, 1914,' and since that time has practiced his profession in San Francisco. In July, 1928, by notice to show cause, he was charged with the commission of specific acts involving moral turpitude, dishonesty and corruption. The local administrative committee of San Francisco, before which the charges were heard found that in January, 1924, the petitioner without authority had effected on behalf of his client, Clara K. Smith, a settlement of a claim of damages for personal injuries for the sum of $350, which sum he received. The committee found that the petitioner without authority had signed the names of his clients, husband and wife, to a release and satisfaction, to which he procured a notarial

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certificate of acknowledgment; that he delivered the release pursuant to the terms of the settlement; but that the facts of the settlement and the receipt of the moneys were not communicated nor revealed to his clients for a period of eight

months;

that discovery thereof was made independently and that upon the clients’ demand through another attorney the petitioner paid the sum of $350, together with an additional sum of $150 for retaining the money and as attorney fees. The recommendation of the committee on that proceeding was that the attorney be disbarred.

In March, 1929, the petitioner was cited to answer similar charges in another matter. The hearings on these charges were held before the San Francisco local administrative committee No. 4. That committee found substantially the following facts:

In March, 1923, the petitioner represented Minnie Lubbe in a divorce action in which she was the plaintiff. In the absence of Minnie Lubbe from the state, without her knowledge or authority, the petitioner signed her name to a property settlement agreement between the spouses, secured a notarial affidavit of acknowledgment thereto, and delivered the agreement. Pursuant to this agreement the petitioner received the sum of $3,000, the full amount of the settlement. He never at any time communic ited the fact of the settlement nor the terms thereof nor the fact of the receipt of the money to his client. Early in November, 1923, Minnie Lubbe returned to San Francisco. On November 16, 1923, she died. The petitioner represented the executors in the probate of her will. Until September, 1924, no disclosure of the foregoing facts was made to the executors by the petitioner.