Petition for Disciplinary Action Against Olsen, In re, No. C8-90-1012
| Court | Supreme Court of Minnesota (US) |
| Writing for the Court | PER CURIAM |
| Citation | 487 N.W.2d 871 |
| Parties | In re Petition for DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST Stanley C. OLSEN, Jr., an Attorney at Law of the State of Minnesota. |
| Docket Number | No. C8-90-1012 |
| Decision Date | 31 July 1992 |
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OLSEN, Jr., an Attorney at Law of the State of
Minnesota.
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Betty M. Shaw, Asst. Director, Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility Bd., St. Paul, for petitioner.
Jack Nordby, Meshbesher & Spence, Ltd., Minneapolis, for respondent.
Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.
PER CURIAM.
On May 3, 1990, the Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility filed a petition for disciplinary action against Stanley C. Olsen, Jr. The petition, and three subsequently filed supplemental petitions, charge Olsen with twelve counts of misconduct, including misappropriating funds from clients, misrepresentations to the members of his firm, trust account violations, failing to file tax returns, inducing
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a client to give a large unsecured personal loan by misrepresenting the purpose of the loan and then applying the proceeds to purposes other than those stated, and misappropriating property of his law firm. On May 11, 1990, Olsen was temporarily suspended from the practice of law. A hearing on the charges was held on September 16-17, 1991. The referee filed his findings, conclusions and recommendation on September 30, 1991, and recommended disbarment.Stanley C. Olsen, Jr. was admitted to the bar in Minnesota in October 1973. He became a nationally recognized expert in the area of transportation law, specializing in the trucking industry. Until his suspension in May 1990, Olsen was in private practice, most recently with a law firm he founded in 1981 with two partners. The firm had a policy that all partners be signatories on all client trust accounts, and that the firm's bookkeeper would maintain the appropriate ledgers, books and records on each account.
In 1986, Olsen began depositing client funds into individual client accounts on which he was the only signatory. Olsen did not reveal the existence of the accounts to his partners and therefore the firm bookkeeper did not maintain the appropriate client trust account books and records. Olsen also began misappropriating funds from these accounts. When necessary to avoid discovery, Olsen made "restitution" to some of these clients, using funds he misappropriated from other clients. Olsen also misappropriated property and money from his law firm. In total, Olsen misappropriated approximately $214,000 from his clients and the firm, and made "restitution" of approximately $150,000.
In November 1988, Olsen borrowed $39,000 from a client of the firm. Olsen did not give the client any security for the loan. Olsen told the client that he needed the money to make up shortages in the firm's trust account, but used the money for other purposes. In April 1990, Olsen defaulted on the note, leaving an unpaid balance of approximately $28,000. Olsen also failed to file state and federal income tax returns for 1989.
Olsen has admitted all of the counts in the Director's petition for disciplinary action but attributes his wrongdoing to a compulsive gambling disorder. Olsen testified that he had a long history of gambling, beginning in high school and continuing through college, law school and his years of legal practice, and that in 1990 he was diagnosed by a physician as a compulsive gambler. However, the record also indicates that prior to 1986, when his gambling caused him financial problems, he was able to borrow money from his family and to stop gambling for a time.
Olsen's partners knew that he gambled, but they did not notice that it interfered with his work nor were they aware that it caused him financial difficulties. Further, Olsen's alleged gambling disorder did not affect his personal finances or lifestyle. During the four years he was misappropriating funds from clients he kept his mortgage current, paid for his son's education and entered into personal business ventures. Other than Olsen's testimony, there was no evidence presented that the misappropriated money was spent gambling.
Olsen also testified that since 1990 he has stopped gambling and is actively involved in a program of recovery through Gamblers Anonymous. This assertion was supported by testimony of other members of his Gamblers Anonymous group and of the program director of a compulsive gambling intervention program. No medical or other expert evidence was presented on this issue.
The referee concluded that Olsen had misappropriated funds from seven clients in violation of Rules 1.15 and 8.4(c) of the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct; had misappropriated funds and property from his firm in violation of Rule 8.4(c), Minn.R.Prof.Conduct; had made false statements to the shareholders in his firm
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In re Disciplinary Action against Rooney, No. A04-1959.
...(disbarring an attorney for misappropriation, submitting false expense reports, and active concealment of the theft); In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 872-73 (Minn.1992) (disbarring an attorney for misappropriation, failure to file tax returns, false statements to law partners, and receiving a ......
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In re Petition for Disciplinary Action against Selmer, No. A06-2254.
...In re Parks, 396 N.W.2d 560, 563 (Minn. 1986), and does not alone preclude disbarment in cases of serious misconduct, e.g., In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 875 (Minn. 1992), we have not held that financial hardship is never a mitigating factor for misconduct. In a similar vein, we have held th......
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In re De Rycke, No. A04-417.
...$2,000 from his client. See Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(c) (prohibiting dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation); In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 873-74 (Minn.1992) (holding the misappropriation of funds is a violation of Rule 8.4(c)). When determining the appropriate sanction for financ......
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In re Disciplinary Action against Pugh, No. C7-97-1350.
...factor when determining the appropriate sanction, lack of previous discipline alone will not mitigate severe misconduct. See In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 875 (Minn.1992) (disbarring attorney for misappropriation of client funds when lack of prior discipline was sole mitigating factor). The ......
-
In re Disciplinary Action against Rooney, No. A04-1959.
...(disbarring an attorney for misappropriation, submitting false expense reports, and active concealment of the theft); In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 872-73 (Minn.1992) (disbarring an attorney for misappropriation, failure to file tax returns, false statements to law partners, and receiving a ......
-
In re Petition for Disciplinary Action against Selmer, No. A06-2254.
...In re Parks, 396 N.W.2d 560, 563 (Minn. 1986), and does not alone preclude disbarment in cases of serious misconduct, e.g., In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 875 (Minn. 1992), we have not held that financial hardship is never a mitigating factor for misconduct. In a similar vein, we have held th......
-
In re De Rycke, No. A04-417.
...$2,000 from his client. See Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(c) (prohibiting dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation); In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 873-74 (Minn.1992) (holding the misappropriation of funds is a violation of Rule 8.4(c)). When determining the appropriate sanction for financ......
-
In re Disciplinary Action against Pugh, No. C7-97-1350.
...factor when determining the appropriate sanction, lack of previous discipline alone will not mitigate severe misconduct. See In re Olsen, 487 N.W.2d 871, 875 (Minn.1992) (disbarring attorney for misappropriation of client funds when lack of prior discipline was sole mitigating factor). The ......