Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Lickiss

• Decision Date: 06 August 2010
• Docket Number: No. 10-0363.,10-0363.
• Citation: 786 N.W.2d 860
• Parties: IOWA SUPREME COURT ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY BOARD, Complainant,v.Stephen J. LICKISS, Respondent.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

786 N.W.2d 860

IOWA SUPREME COURT ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY BOARD, Complainant,v.Stephen J. LICKISS, Respondent.

No. 10-0363.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Aug. 6, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Charles L. Harrington and Wendell J. Harms, Des Moines, for complainant.

Stephen J. Lickiss, Altoona, pro se.

TERNUS, Chief Justice.

This matter comes before us on the report of a division of the Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa. See Iowa Ct. R. 35.10. The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board alleged the respondent, Stephen J. Lickiss, violated ethical rules in four probate matters by neglecting these matters, failing to respond to clients' inquiries for information, taking probate fees without prior court approval, failing to notify his clients that he had ceased to represent them, and failing to respond to the board's inquiries. The grievance commission found Lickiss violated the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct and recommended a three-month suspension. Upon our respectful consideration of the findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendation of the commission, we find Lickiss committed several ethical violations and suspend his license to practice law indefinitely with no possibility of reinstatement for three months.

I. Standard of Review.

We review attorney disciplinary proceedings de novo. Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Wagner, 768 N.W.2d 279, 281 (Iowa 2009). The commission's findings and recommendations are given respectful consideration, but we are not bound by them. Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Casey, 761 N.W.2d 53, 55 (Iowa 2009). The board has the burden of proving attorney misconduct by a convincing preponderance of the evidence. Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Conrad, 723 N.W.2d 791, 792 (Iowa 2006). As frequently stated, “ ‘[t]his burden is less than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but more than the preponderance standard required in the usual civil case.’ ” Id. (quoting Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Lett, 674 N.W.2d 139, 142 (Iowa 2004)). Upon proof of misconduct, the court may impose a lesser or greater sanction than that recommended by the commission. Id.

II. Prior Proceedings and Factual Background.

Lickiss was admitted to the Iowa bar in 1995. At the times relevant to this disciplinary proceeding, he practiced as a sole practitioner. Prior to undertaking the probate matters that are the subject of this disciplinary action, Lickiss had no experience handling adult conservatorships, adult guardianships, or estates.

On January 15, 2009, the board filed its amended complaint against Lickiss, alleging misconduct and ethical violations in four probate matters. Lickiss failed to answer and failed to respond to other inquiries by the board. As a result, the commission ruled the allegations in the amended complaint were deemed admitted pursuant to Iowa Court Rule 36.7. See Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Rickabaugh, 728 N.W.2d 375, 378 (Iowa 2007). Based on Lickiss's implied admissions, the hearing on the board's complaint addressed only the issue of the proper discipline. A related matter that arose at the hearing was whether and to what extent Lickiss's prior discipline should affect the current proceeding and the appropriate sanction. We now set forth the circumstances regarding the four probate matters, Lickiss's prior discipline, and Lickiss's evidence of mitigating circumstances.

A. Mina Shelton Guardianship and Conservatorship. In October 2005, Lickiss opened a guardianship and conservatorship for Mina Shelton (“Mina”). Mina's daughter, Irene Henderson, and son, Danny Shelton, were named co-guardians and co-conservators. Lickiss did not secure the surety bond ordered by the court, even though he assured Henderson he would. In addition, Lickiss was paid $1176.48 for his services without prior approval from the probate court as required by statute.¹

When the reports required in guardianships and conservatorships were not filed, Lickiss received notice of and failed to cure numerous delinquencies. He also failed to respond to the board's inquiries and his clients' inquiries about these delinquencies. As a result of Lickiss's failure to act, Henderson hired a new attorney in December 2007. She also filed a request for an extension of time to deal with the delinquencies, in which she stated: “I have tried numerous times to reach [Lickiss] by telephone and have not received any calls from him. It is my understanding that he is still listed as the attorney of record in this matter.” Although Lickiss eventually closed his practice, he neither withdrew from the case nor informed his clients that he was no longer acting as their attorney.

Based on this series of events, the board alleged and Lickiss admitted violations of the following provisions of the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct: 32:1.1 (“A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client.”), 32:1.3 (“A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.”), 32:1.4(a)(3) (“A lawyer shall ... keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter[.]”), 32:1.4(a)(4) (“A lawyer shall ... promptly comply with reasonable requests for information [.]”), 32:1.5(a) (“A lawyer shall not ... charge ... or collect [a fee in violation of] any restrictions imposed by law.”), 32:3.2 (“A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation consistent with the interests of the client.”), 32:3.4(c) (“A lawyer shall not ... knowingly disobey ... the rules of a tribunal[.]”), 32:8.1(b) (“[A] lawyer ... shall not ... knowingly fail to respond to a lawful demand for information from an admissions or disciplinary authority[.]”), and 32:8.4(d) (“It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to ... engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice [.]”).²

B. Howard Shelton Guardianship and Conservatorship. Lickiss established a guardianship and conservatorship for Howard Shelton (“Howard”) contemporaneously with doing so for Howard's wife, Mina. Henderson and Danny Shelton were named co-guardians and co-conservators. Lickiss's conduct with respect to Howard's guardianship and conservatorship mirrored his conduct with respect to Mina's guardianship and conservatorship. As a result, the board alleged and Lickiss admitted he violated the same ethical rules enumerated in relation to the Mina Shelton matter.

C. Maxine Baird Guardianship and Conservatorship. On February 9, 2006, Lickiss filed a petition establishing a guardianship and conservatorship for Maxine Baird. Lark Eckerman and Sandra Stotts, Baird's daughters, were named co-guardians and co-conservators. Despite telling his clients he would secure the surety bond required by the court, Lickiss failed to do so. As of June 2008, Lickiss had also received three delinquency notices and had failed to cure the delinquencies. In addition, he did not respond to the board's inquiries regarding these notices. Although Eckerman attempted to reach Lickiss by calling the telephone numbers Lickiss and the clerk of court had given her for him, she received recordings saying the numbers were not in service. With assistance from the clerk of court, Eckerman was eventually able to address the delinquencies and file the necessary reports on her own.

Baird died in March 2009. At the time of the hearing in this disciplinary action, Eckerman had been unable to reach Lickiss to obtain a copy of Baird's will. At the hearing, Lickiss promised to get the will to Eckerman. Based on these uncontroverted facts, the board alleged and Lickiss admitted he violated the same ethical rules enumerated in relation to the Mina Shelton matter.

D. Richard McGrean Estate. On April 7, 2006, Lickiss filed a petition for administration of Richard McGrean's estate. Lickiss failed to publish and mail notices regarding the estate, failed to file an inventory, and failed to file interlocutory reports. Several delinquency notices were sent to Lickiss from 2006 through 2008, but he did not cure the delinquencies. Consequently, the board alleged and Lickiss admitted he violated the same ethical rules enumerated in relation to the Mina Shelton matter.

E. Lickiss's Prior Discipline. After Lickiss was notified of the delinquencies in the Shelton matters on June 1, 2006, these delinquencies were reported to the disciplinary authorities. See Iowa Code § 633.32 (2005) (requiring clerk of court to report delinquent inventories and reports to the presiding judge); Iowa Ct. R. 7.6(2), (3) (requiring clerk of court to submit section 633.32 reports to the state court administrator, who must then transmit a list of attorneys who have ignored a notice of delinquency to the disciplinary board). The board wrote to Lickiss regarding these delinquencies on October 11, 2006, and again on November 14, 2006, but received no response.

In January 2007, the board initiated the disciplinary process to address the probate delinquencies in the Shelton proceedings. Thereafter, the board became aware of four additional delinquency notices sent by the clerk in the Shelton matters and a notice of delinquency issued in the McGrean estate. Following the board's second notice to Lickiss of the January 2007 disciplinary proceeding, Lickiss finally responded on February 23, 2007, but took no steps to rectify the delinquencies.

On June 14, 2007, the board issued a public reprimand of Lickiss, which this court published on September 21, 2007. The board's reprimand was based on Lickiss's failure to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in the Shelton and McGrean matters in violation of rule 32:1.3. Specifically, the board was acting in response to four delinquency notices in the Mina Shelton matter, four delinquency notices in the Howard Shelton matter, and one delinquency notice in the McGrean matter. The 2007 reprimand did not address Lickiss's failure to secure surety bonds or his collection of...