In re Stapleton

819 P.2d 125, 249 Kan. 524, 1991 Kan. LEXIS 170
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedOctober 25, 1991
DocketNo. 66,026
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 819 P.2d 125 (In re Stapleton) 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 Stapleton, 819 P.2d 125, 249 Kan. 524, 1991 Kan. LEXIS 170 (kan 1991).

Opinion

Per Curiam:

This original proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the disciplinary administrator against J. William Staple-ton, of Overland Park, Kansas, charged the respondent with various violations of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC), Supreme Court Rule 226 (1990 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 210). In a second count the respondent was charged with failure to cooperate with the disciplinary administrator’s office in violation of Supreme Court Rule 207 (1990 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 141).

The original complainant, Ronald McLemore, and his present wife, Jill McLemore, retained Mr. Stapleton to represent Mr. McLemore in various post-trial divorce motions he desired to file in an action involving a former spouse. The complainant, being dissatisfied with the representation provided by the respondent, filed a complaint with the disciplinary administrator. During the ensuing investigation, the respondent failed to cooperate with or respond to inquiries and requests from the disciplinary administrator’s office and subsequently stipulated that he had violated Rule 207.

Following a hearing before a panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys, at which respondent appeared with counsel, the panel found that respondent had violated three provisions of the MRPC in addition to his violation of Rule 207. The panel unanimously recommended that respondent be suspended from the practice of law. The respondent filed exceptions to the report and, after briefing and oral argument, the matter is now before this court for final determination.

[525]*525Respondent, in his brief, raised three issues: (1) whether the panel’s findings of fact are supported by clear and convincing evidence; (2) whether respondent’s representation of complainant was within the permissible range of competency required of an attorney; and (3) whether the discipline recommended by the panel is appropriate or necessary.

The panel in its report summarized the complaint and evidence as follows:

“The complaining witness, Ronald McLemore, thought his present wife phoned the respondent probably in about May of 1989 for the purpose of having the respondent represent him for reduction of child support and to obtain specific visitation rights in a post-divorce situation with McLemore’s former wife. The respondent took this employment and asked for a retainer of $250 which was mailed to respondent in June of 1989. That thereafter the respondent would not answer communications from the complaining witness, but finally on July 20, 1989, the respondent did tell McLemore that the respondent had filed a motion with the court concerning these post trial motions. The record shows that this motion was filed on that same date of July 20, 1989, but McLemore never received a copy of this motion. That McLemore or his present wife on several occasions called the respondent with information concerning McLemore’s former wife in relation to the post trial motions. This information was to the effect that the former wife was moving to Florida with the children and further that McLemore and his former wife had worked out an agreement concerning custody of their children.
“The evidence then shows that the respondent agreed to file a motion for joint custody of the children and to draft an agreement concerning the custody of the children between McLemore and his former wife. That time was of the essence because of the pending move of the former wife to Florida with the children and by reason thereof she was expressing cooperation with an agreement.
“The respondent did not file such a motion for joint custody and did not draft an agreement between McLemore and his former wife concerning the children. The complaining witness tried to communicate with the respondent by telephone on numerous occasions concerning these legal matters and the respondent did not return the phone calls. McLemore called the Clerk of the District Court to ascertain the status of this case and found that no motions regarding joint custody had ever been filed by respondent.
“The respondent’s version of the facts was somewhat different than McLemore and his present wife, and the respondent’s version of the situation, in substance, was that the respondent was just retained for the purpose of filing a motion for reduction of child support. Respondent testified that he had talked to McLemore and his present wife about filing a change [526]*526of custody of McLemore’s children, but that McLemore did not want to go ahead with this matter.
“Respondent further introduced as evidence copies of two letters which he had sent to complaining witness, but the testimony was that they had never received the same.
“That at the conclusion of the hearing the panel, at respondent’s request, gave him thirty days to submit any additional evidence ... of mitigating circumstances he desired to present to the panel.
“It should be noted that no additional evidence has been submitted to the panel by the respondent other than that that was received at the hearing.”

The record, which we have carefully examined, contains numerous documents and a 211-page transcript of the proceedings before the panel. The complainant, his present wife, and the respondent all testified at length before the panel. The foregoing factual background in the panel report is a highly summarized version of the evidence in the record. Rased upon the documentary evidence and the testimony before it, the panel found:

“The panel finds that the following matters are established by clear and convincing evidence:
“1. J. William Stapleton is an attorney at law holding registration number 08063 with his last registered office being located at 4550 West 109th Street, Suite 230, Overland Park, Kansas 66211.
"2. That the respondent accepted employment on behalf of respondent McLemore regarding post-divorce motions which were originally, in substance, to modify child support and to obtain specific child visitation rights and that Ronald McLemore paid a retainer to respondent in the sum of $250 in June of 1989.
“3. That McLemore or his present wife tried to communicate with respondent on several occasions concerning this employment and could not communicate with respondent. Further that McLemore never received any copies of any motions or pleadings filed on his behalf.
“4. That on July 20, 1989, the present wife of McLemore was able to talk to the respondent by telephone and respondent at that time told her that he had filed these post divorce motions. That thereafter this witness then determined through the Clerk of the District Court that a motion to decrease child support only had been filed on the same date of July 20, 1989.
“5. That McLemore received information that his former wife was moving to Florida with the children of this marriage and [for] this reason the former wife was willing to enter into an agreement for custody of the children. That this information was furnished to the respondent. to draft such an agreement and further to file a motion for joint custody of the children. [527]*527That time was- of the essence by reason of this pending move to Florida by the former wife.

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Related

In re Stapleton
824 P.2d 205 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
819 P.2d 125, 249 Kan. 524, 1991 Kan. LEXIS 170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-stapleton-kan-1991.