In re Sachse

135 P.3d 1207, 281 Kan. 1197, 2006 Kan. LEXIS 346
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJune 9, 2006
DocketNo. 95,240
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 135 P.3d 1207 (In re Sachse) 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 Sachse, 135 P.3d 1207, 281 Kan. 1197, 2006 Kan. LEXIS 346 (kan 2006).

Opinion

Per Curiam:

This is an original uncontested proceeding in discipline filed by the Disciplinary Administrator s office against Mark J. Sachse, of Kansas City, an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Kansas.

The formal complaint filed against respondent alleges violations of KRPC 1.1 (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 356) competence; 1.3 (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 369) diligence and promptness; 1.4 (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 383) communication; 3.2 (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 457) expediting litigation; 8.1(b) (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 499) disclosure; 8.4(g) (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 504) misconduct; and Supreme Court Rule 207(b) (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 271) failure to cooperate. Respondent filed an answer admitting the allegations in the complaint.

A hearing before the panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys was held on August 23, 2005, in the hearing room of the office of Disciplinary Administrator, Topeka, Kansas. Respondent appeared pro se and stipulated to the facts and to the violations of KRPC as set forth in the complaint. The panel found the following facts were established by clear and convincing evidence:

Gallagher Complaint: DA9201

“2. On October 2, 2002, Kevin and Jammi Gallagher retained the Respondent to expunge felony convictions of forgery for Mrs. Gallagher. At that time, the Gallaghers paid the Respondent $500.00 in attorney fees for the representation. Additionally, the Gallaghers provided the Respondent with a check made payable [1198]*1198for court costs. The Respondent told the Gallaghers that the expungement process would take approximately 30 days.
“3. After Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher placed numerous calls to the Respondent’s office to get the process going, in late December 2002, the Respondent notified Mrs. Gallagher that the paperwork was ready to be signed. Mrs. Gallagher signed the pleadings. On January 2, 2003, Mrs. Gallagher returned the pleadings to the Respondent’s office.
“4. Mr. Gallagher called the Respondent’s office numerous times in January
2003, February 2003, and March 2003. Each time Mr. Gallagher called, the Respondent assured Mr. Gallagher that the expungement process would be completed in a matter of days. However, the Respondent had not yet filed the petition for expungement.
“5. On April 22, 2003, Mr. Gallagher sent the Respondent a letter asking the Respondent to complete the expungement by May 2, 2003.
“6. On April 30, 2003, the Respondent filed the petition to expunge Mrs. Gallagher’s convictions. The Respondent called Mr. Gallagher and assured Mr. Gallagher that he would have the expungement completed soon.
“7. After filing the petition, the Respondent took no further action to complete tire expungement.
“8. Mr. Gallagher called and left a message for the Respondent every month from May 2003 through November 2003, seeking the status of the expungement. The Respondent failed to return Mr. Gallagher’s calls.
“9. In December 2003, Mr. Gallagher reached die Respondent by phone. The Respondent assured Mr. Gallagher that the matter would be completed within a few days. The Respondent did not complete the expungement.
“10. Mr. Gallagher again left messages for the Respondent in January 2004, February 2004, March 2004, and April 2004. The Respondent failed to return Mr. Gallagher’s calls.
“11. On April 19, 2004, Mr. Gallagher filed a complaint with the Disciplinary Administrator’s office.
“12. On April 22, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to the Respondent, notified him that the complaint had been docketed for investigation, enclosed a copy of Mr. Gallagher’s complaint, and requested that the Respondent provide a written response to Mr. Gallagher’s complaint within 20 days.
“13. John Duma, Chairman of the Wyandotte Count)' Ethics and Grievance Committee, was assigned to investigate Mr. Gallagher’s complaint. .On May 3,
2004, Mr. Duma -wrote to the Respondent and reminded him of his obligation to provide a written response to Mr. Gallagher’s complaint.
“14. The Respondent failed to provide a written response to Mr. Gallagher’s complaint.
“15. On May 13, 2004, Mr. Gallagher sent the Respondent letter terminating the Respondent’s representation and requesting that the Respondent return the attorney fee paid. The Respondent provided Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher with a refund of $500.00 and promised to complete the expungement immediately at no charge.
[1199]*1199“16. After being fired by Mr. Gallagher, on May 24, 2004, die Respondent refiled the petition for expungement in Mrs. Gallagher’s behalf. The Respondent, however, did not provide a proposed order of expungement.
“17. On October 29,2004, Mr. Duma filed an order of expungement in behalf of Mrs. Gallagher.

Lantos Complaint: DA9259

“18. The Respondent agreed to represent Javier Ortega, who was detained in a jail in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mr. Ortega did not speak or understand the English language. The Respondent hired Sebastian Lantos, a certified court interpreter to interpret from and translate into Spanish.
“19. On August 12, 2002, Mr. Lantos provided translation services during a jail visit with Mr. Ortega. On that same date, Mr. Lantos’ office sent the Respondent a bill for $60.00. The Respondent did not pay the bill.
“20. Beginning November 3, 2002, and continuing through April 28, 2004, Mr. Lantos and his office staff left numerous messages and sent numerous reminders regarding the outstanding bill. Still, the Respondent did not pay the bill.
“21. Then, on May 5,2004, Mr. Lantos filed a complaint with the Disciplinary Administrator’s office.
“22. On May 11, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to the Respondent, enclosed a copy of Mr. Lantos’ complaint, and requested that the Respondent provide a written response to Mr. Lantos’ complaint within 15 days. The Respondent did not provide a written response to the complaint.
“23. On June 23, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to the Respondent for a second time. The Disciplinary Administrator enclosed a copy of die May 11, 2004, letter and again directed the Respondent to provide a written response to the complaint. The Disciplinary Administrator provided the Respondent with an additional 10 days to respond to the complaint. The Respondent did not provide a written response to the complaint.
“24. On July 13, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to die Respondent regarding Mr. Lantos’ complaint for the third time. The Disciplinary Administrator informed the Respondent that Mr. Lantos’ complaint had been docketed for investigation. The Disciplinary Administrator provided die Respondent widi an additional 20 days to provide a written response to the complaint.
“25. Mr. Duma was appointed to investigate Mr. Lantos’ complaint. On July 19, 2004, Mr.

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Related

United States v. Montgomery
676 F. Supp. 2d 1218 (D. Kansas, 2009)
In Re Sachse
167 P.3d 793 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
135 P.3d 1207, 281 Kan. 1197, 2006 Kan. LEXIS 346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-sachse-kan-2006.