In re Bock

265 P.3d 552, 293 Kan. 616, 2011 Kan. LEXIS 594
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedDecember 2, 2011
DocketNo. 106,284
StatusPublished

This text of 265 P.3d 552 (In re Bock) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Bock, 265 P.3d 552, 293 Kan. 616, 2011 Kan. LEXIS 594 (kan 2011).

Opinion

Per Curiam:

This is an original proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the Disciplinary Administrator against the respondent, Shelley Kurt Bock, of Lawrence, an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Kansas in 1979.

On October 8, 2010, the office of the Disciplinary Administrator filed a formal complaint against the respondent alleging violations of the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct (KRPC). An amended formal complaint was filed on October 12, 2010. The respondent filed an answer on November 29, 2010. A hearing was held on the complaint before a panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys on December 9, 2010, where the respondent was personally present and was represented by counsel. The hearing panel determined that respondent violated KRPC 1.1 (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 406) (competence); 1.3 (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 422) (diligence); 1.4 (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 441) (communication); 3.2 (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 539) (expediting litigation); 8.1(b) (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 594) (failure to respond to lawful demand for information from disciplinary authority); and Kansas Supreme Court Rule 207(b) (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 308) (failure to cooperate in disciplinary investigation). The respondent also violated the terms and conditions of his probation, as ordered by this court in its order of February 1, 2008.

Upon conclusion of the hearing, the panel made the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, together with its recommendation to this court:

[617]*617“FINDINGS OF FACT
“2. On February 1, 2008, following a disciplinary proceeding, the Kansas Supreme Court placed the Respondent on probation for three years. The Court detailed the terms and conditions of the Respondent’s supervised probation in its opinion. In re Bock, 285 Kan. 815, 175 P.3d 233 (2008).
“DA10958
“3. In April 2009 Jane Fortin retained the Respondent to expunge her son’s criminal convictions. The Respondent investigated the matter and determined that Mr. Fortin had five criminal cases to expunge. The Respondent determined that Mr. Fortin had completed the terms of the cases and all five cases were appropriate and time-ready for expungement. The Respondent informed Mrs. Fortin that the filing fees associated with the expungement cases totaled $500. Mrs. Fortin provided the Respondent with $500 for the fifing fees associated with expunging the convictions from five cases.
“4. The Respondent scheduled a meeting with Mr. Fortin. Mr. Fortin appeared at the appointed time in the Respondent’s office. Mr. Fortin waited for two hours for tire Respondent to appear. After waiting, Mr. Fortin was told that the Respondent was out of the country.
“5. Mr. Fortin repeatedly called the Respondent for update[s] regarding the expungement process. The Respondent failed to return Mr. Fortin’s telephone calls and failed to take any action in his behalf.
“6. In the fall of 2009 Mr. Fortin enlisted the assistance of his sister, Joanie Peterson, a Missouri attorney. Ms. Peterson repeatedly contacted the Respondent. The Respondent did not return Ms. Peterson’s telephone calls.
“7. In November 2009 Ms. Peterson filed a complaint against the Respondent. On December 3, 2009, the Disciplinary Administrator docketed the complaint for investigation. Thereafter, Sherri Loveland, the Chairman of the Douglas County Ethics and Grievance Committee and the attorney assigned to investigate Ms. Peterson’s complaint, contacted the Respondent and urged him to complete the expungement cases.
“8. After the complaint was filed, the Respondent began working on Mr. Fortin’s expungement cases. He determined that Mr. Fortin had not complied with all of the terms of the cases, in that, Mr. Fortin continued to owe nearly $500 in fees and costs in one of the cases and that there were eight criminal cases to expunge rather than five.
“9. In late January 2010 the Respondent filed the petitions for expungement. However, tire cases were not time-ready for expungement until March 1, 2010. Thereafter, on March 12, 2010, the court expunged Mr. Fortin’s criminal convictions.
“DA10989
“10. The Douglas County District Court appointed the Respondent to serve [618]*618on its juvenile panel in the 1980’s. The Respondent continuously served on that panel. As a member of the juvenile panel, the Respondent was regularly appointed to represent parents in child in need of care cases, serve as guardian ad litem for the children in need of care, and represented juveniles in juvenile offender cases.
“11. Every Friday, all juvenile panel attorneys receive electronic mail messages with the calendar for their hearings and citizen review board meetings scheduled for the following week. In addition, standard notices of hearing are sent for each case, subsequent hearing dates are announced at the conclusion of each hearing and meeting, and subsequent hearing and meeting dates appear in court orders.
“Representation as Guardian ad Litem for J.P., A.D., and A.T.
“12. On September 8, 2009, the mother’s attorney in a child in need of care case, requested that the children, ages 4, 9, and 10, be present in court for the next hearing, scheduled for October 20, 2009. The judge indicated that the Respondent, as guardian ad litem, would have input as to whether that was appropriate. The CASA [court appointed special advocate] thought that court attendance could be traumatic for the children.
“13. On September 12, 2009, the CASA visited with J.P., the oldest child, about the court process. The CASA sent the Respondent an electronic mail message regarding her conversation with J.P. The CASA explained that she did not have the same conversation with A.T., due to her age and she did not have the same conversation with A.D. due to her mental health issues. The CASA suggested that the Respondent visit with J.P. to determine whether J.P. should participate in the court process. The Respondent did not respond to the CASA’s electronic mail message.
“14. The case manager set up a meeting with the Respondent, the CASA, the parent educator in the case, and J.P.’s therapist to discuss the children’s court attendance and parental visits. The case manager sent several electronic mail messages to the Respondent attempting to schedule the meeting. The Respondent did not respond.
“[15]. The case manager saw the Respondent in the courthouse a few days later and asked the Respondent if he could attend a meeting on September 19, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. The Respondent indicated that he would be able to attend the meeting. The Respondent, however, failed to appear at the meeting.
“[16]. At the tíme the meeting began, the case manager attempted to contact the Respondent by telephone. The Respondent’s voice mail box was full and the case manager was unable to leave a message for the Respondent.
“[17]. The case manager postponed the meeting to September 23, 2009, because the Respondent’s presence was necessary.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

In Re Foster
258 P.3d 375 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2011)
In Re Dennis
188 P.3d 1 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2008)
In Re Bock
175 P.3d 233 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2008)
In re Lober
204 P.3d 610 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2009)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
265 P.3d 552, 293 Kan. 616, 2011 Kan. LEXIS 594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-bock-kan-2011.