Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Eslick

CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Iowa
Citation859 N.W.2d 198
Docket NumberNo. 14–1577.,14–1577.
PartiesIOWA SUPREME COURT ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY BOARD, Complainant, v. Cami N. ESLICK, Respondent.
Decision Date30 January 2015

859 N.W.2d 198

IOWA SUPREME COURT ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY BOARD, Complainant
v.
Cami N. ESLICK, Respondent.

No. 14–1577.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Jan. 30, 2015.


859 N.W.2d 199

Charles L. Harrington, David J. Grace (until withdrawal), and Elizabeth E. Quinlan, Des Moines, for complainant.

Cami N. Eslick, Indianola, pro se.

Opinion

HECHT, Justice.

The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board (the Board) charged attorney Cami Noelle Eslick with violating rules of professional conduct after a trust account audit revealed numerous deficiencies. Eslick admitted all allegations in the Board's complaint. After a hearing, the grievance commission found Eslick violated several rules and recommended suspension of her license for thirty days.

I. Background Facts and Proceedings.

Eslick was admitted to the Iowa bar in 2005. She has operated her solo practice in Warren County since 2008. In 2011, an auditor from the Client Security Commission instructed Eslick to rectify several deficiencies in her trust accounting practices. Following up on those instructions, the Client Security Commission audited Eslick again in January 2013 after she received several trust account overdraft notices. The auditor requested numerous documents from Eslick, including trust account bank statements, receipt and disbursement journals, ledger records, reconciliations, and a check register. However, Eslick failed to provide them promptly.

A month passed, and the auditor's request for access to Eslick's records had not been honored. Eslick and the auditor attempted to meet for a follow-up appointment several times, but weather and illness interfered and the appointment was never rescheduled. The Client Security Commission issued a notice of delinquency

859 N.W.2d 200

on March 22, 2013, and on April 8, Eslick produced some of the requested documents. When she provided them, Eslick stated, “I will admit my account is a mess. I kept thinking I could get it straightened out, but I didn't realize h[ow] bad of a mess it was.”

The auditor examined the documents and found the funds in Eslick's trust account were nearly $8000 short. In several instances, Eslick's records showed clients were credited for funds received, but no corresponding deposits were made to the trust account. Exacerbating the problem, Eslick failed to maintain records mandated by court rules and neglected her obligation to perform monthly trust account reconciliations. Further, the auditor determined Eslick had commingled personal funds—derived from an operating loan from her father—with client funds in the trust account. Eslick explained that she considered the clients' funds she did not deposit in the trust account “as funds being removed from” that operating loan. However, she completely depleted the loaned funds and withdrew client funds before earning them. In April 2013, Eslick deposited funds to bring the trust account into balance.

On May 6, 2014, the Board filed a complaint with the grievance commission alleging Eslick violated Iowa Rule of Professional Conduct 32:1.15 and Iowa Court Rules 45.1, 45.2, and 45.7. The complaint alleged the audit revealed several instances of misconduct on Eslick's part: failing to deposit all unearned fees and prepaid expenses into her trust account, commingling personal funds with those of her clients, failing to maintain a receipt and disbursement journal and check ledger for the trust account, failing to perform trust account reconciliations, withdrawing fees from the account without notifying clients, failing to maintain copies of accountings to clients, and operating with a deficiency of nearly $8000 in her trust account. On June 27, Eslick filed an answer admitting each of the violations alleged in the complaint.

On August 27, the matter came on for hearing before the grievance commission. Eslick expressed remorse, stating, “There are no excuses for not keeping my books. I knew better.” She explained she had neglected her trust accounting obligations because she took on more clients than she could handle and became overwhelmed. She noted despite her record-keeping and accounting missteps, no clients were financially harmed; and since the 2013 audit, she has reformed her trust accounting procedures such that her accounts balance “to the penny” every month. Further, she now takes medication for attention deficit disorder and has learned coping skills through therapy. These measures, she explained, now equip her to manage her very full workload without becoming overwhelmed. Eslick emphasized her violations of the applicable rules were committed without intent to defraud or steal from her clients.

Following the hearing, the commission found Eslick violated Iowa Rule of Professional Conduct 32:1.15 and Iowa Court Rules 45.1, 45.2, and 45.7. Specifically, the commission found Eslick violated rule 32:1.15(b) by commingling personal funds with those of her clients; that she violated rule 45.2(3)(a )(9) by failing to perform trust account reconciliations; that she violated rules 32:1.15(c), 45.1, and 45.7(3) by failing to deposit advance fee payments into the trust account; and that she violated rule 45.7(4) by failing to notify clients when their funds were withdrawn from her trust account. Taking into account Eslick's prior reprimand for rules violations unrelated to trust account management, the commission recommended a thirty-day suspension.

859 N.W.2d 201

II. Scope of Review.

We review attorney disciplinary matters de novo. Iowa Ct. R. 35.11(1) ; see also Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Morris, 847 N.W.2d 428, 433 (Iowa 2014). “The Board must prove the attorney's ... misconduct by a convincing preponderance of the evidence.” Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Barnhill, 847 N.W.2d 466, 470 (Iowa 2014). This standard “places a burden on the Board that is higher than the burden in civil cases but lower than the burden in criminal matters.” Id. The Board's burden is also lower than “clear and convincing,” the highest civil standard of proof. Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Kennedy, 837 N.W.2d 659, 667 (Iowa 2013) ; Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. McCuskey, 814 N.W.2d 250, 254 (Iowa 2012). “We respectfully consider the commission's recommendations, but they are not binding upon us.” Morris, 847 N.W.2d at 433.

III. Analysis.

A. Rule Violations. The Board alleged that Eslick violated Iowa Rule of Professional Conduct 32:1.15 and Iowa Court Rules 45.1, 45.2, and 45.7. Eslick admitted each paragraph of the Board's complaint. “Factual matters admitted by an attorney in an answer are deemed established, regardless of the evidence in the record.” Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Nelson, 838 N.W.2d 528, 532 (Iowa 2013) ; accord Iowa Supreme Ct. Att'y Disciplinary Bd. v. Alexander, 727 N.W.2d 120, 122 (Iowa 2007).

1. Rule 32:1.15. Three portions of rule 32:1.15 are relevant to our adjudication of this case. First, “[a] lawyer...

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