State ex rel. Nebraska State Bar Ass'n v. Kelly

• Decision Date: 04 October 1985
• Docket Number: No. 84-482,84-482
• Citation: 374 N.W.2d 833,221 Neb. 8
• Parties: STATE of Nebraska ex rel. NEBRASKA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, Relator, v. L. William KELLY III, Respondent.
• Court: Nebraska Supreme Court

Page 833

374 N.W.2d 833

221 Neb. 8

STATE of Nebraska ex rel. NEBRASKA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, Relator, v. L. William KELLY III, Respondent.

No. 84-482.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

Oct. 4, 1985.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Disciplinary Proceedings: Appeal and Error. In a disciplinary proceeding the determination as to whether discipline should be imposed and what discipline is appropriate is made upon a de novo review of the record.

2. Disciplinary Proceedings. In a disciplinary proceeding the charges must be established by a clear preponderance of the evidence.

3. Disciplinary Proceedings. Implicit in the oath of an attorney and in the license to practice law are the requirements of proper demeanor and restraint from practices which serve to discredit the legal system.

4. Disciplinary Proceedings. Conduct which brings reproach upon the legal profession constitutes grounds for discipline.

5. Disciplinary Proceedings. The nature and extent of discipline to be imposed is determined by a consideration of the nature of the offense, the need for deterring others, the maintenance of the reputation of the bar as a whole, the protection of the public, the attitude of the offender generally, and his present or future fitness to continue in the practice of law.

Alison L. Larson, Asst. Counsel for Discipline, Lincoln for relator.

John R. Doyle and Timothy J. Doyle, Lincoln for respondent.

KRIVOSHA, C.J., and BOSLAUGH, HASTINGS, CAPORALE, SHANAHAN, and GRANT, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

This is a disciplinary proceeding in which the respondent, L. William Kelly III, was charged with violating his oath of office as a lawyer and the Code of Professional Responsibility.

The respondent was admitted to the practice of law in this state on July 2, 1976.

On September 1, 1983, William Micek and Grover Robinson sought to retain the respondent's grandfather, Lloyd W. Kelly, Sr., to defend them on charges which were to be filed in Hall County, Nebraska. After briefly discussing the case with them, the senior Kelly called the respondent into his office to assist in the matter. A fee arrangement was discussed at this time, and a retainer of $1,000 to $1,500 was requested from each of the two men. After further discussion it was arranged that the two men could leave their bond receipts with the Kellys in lieu of a cash retainer.

No express agreement was reached regarding the assignment of the cash bonds to the Kellys. Both Micek and Robinson claim that they expressly refused to assign the bond receipts and that the respondent was present at the time of this refusal. Respondent has no recollection of Micek's refusal to assign his bond receipt.

Micek and Robinson also claim that they offered to put up cash retainers but that Lloyd Kelly, Sr., responded that the cash retainers would be unnecessary so long as the bond receipts were left as security. The unassigned bond receipts were then left with the respondent on September 1, 1983.

According to Robinson, the respondent was told that the bond money was "all his" if he was able to get the charges dismissed. Lloyd Kelly, Sr., testified that such a statement was made at the end of the meeting in his office on September 1, 1983, when Micek and Robinson handed their bond receipts to the respondent. Robinson testified that he returned to the Kelly office later that same day and told the respondent that he could keep Robinson's $1,500 if the charges against him were dropped.

Following the September 1, 1983, meeting in the Kelly offices, the respondent engaged in several discussions with the Hall County attorney regarding Micek's and Robinson's cases. On September 14, 1983, the county attorney declined to prosecute Micek. On that same afternoon, the respondent wrote an assignment to Kelly & Kelly on the back of Micek's bond receipt and had another local attorney write Micek's signature below the assignment. The receipt was then presented to the clerk of the Hall County Court, and the $1,500 was paid over to the respondent. The respondent testified that he believed he had Micek's permission to cash the bond and that he thought he was doing Micek a service by saving him an extra trip from Lincoln to endorse the bond receipt. The proceeds of the bond received by the respondent were deposited in the Kelly office account, not a segregated trust account. The respondent testified that the funds were not segregated because he thought he was entitled to the entire fee.

Later in the evening on September 14, 1983, Micek called the respondent at his home. Micek claims that the respondent told him, "I think I've got your charges dropped. But call me next week and I'll find out." The respondent claims that he stated, "They're not going to press charges against you. Why don't you come in, in a week or the first part of next week, or whatever, and we'll get, you know, we'll get the fee squared away." Micek was not informed in this conversation of the fact that his bond receipt had been endorsed in his name and cashed. The respondent stated that he did not tell Micek that the bond had been cashed because, at the time, he did not think it was important. Apparently, this was due to Robinson's statement regarding retention of the bond money if the charges were dismissed.

Micek and Robinson testified that they went to Grand Island the next day, September 15, 1983, because Robinson was confused about the sequence of procedural events taking place in his case. They also testified that they stopped at the Kelly offices, but the respondent was not there. It was on this date that Micek says he first learned from the clerk of the Hall County Court that the prosecution against him had definitely been declined and that his bond had been cashed. The respondent testified that his office records do not indicate that either Micek or Robinson was in the Kelly office on September 15, 1983, and that he had told Micek during the telephone conversation on the evening of September 14, 1983, that he (Kelly) would be out of town.

On September 19, 1983, Micek and Robinson made another trip to Grand Island to see the respondent. Micek said that he asked the respondent if his bill had been computed so that he might get everything squared away to save another trip to Grand Island. Respondent is said to have replied that he would send Micek the remaining money when the fees were figured but that he had to first discuss the bill with his grandfather, who "was sick, or something like that." The respondent, in contrast, testified:

Q. And did Mr. Micek at that time request the return of his money?

A. No.

Q. He didn't?

A. No. If he would have reques--no, it was not discussed. What was discussed was, I said, "As soon as I get an opportunity to visit with my grandfather with regards to the fee notwithstanding what we said would be a retainer, I don't think we're entitled to the entire amount and we'll reimburse it after I get a chance to see him." I also explained to him that, you know my grandfather and his attitudes and everything, that it would probably take a couple weeks and that we would work something out; that I felt we would be entitled to a fee somewhere in the amount of $500. That seemed agreeable with him at the time.

The respondent admitted that, on this date, Micek was concerned with the fact that the respondent had cashed the bond receipt.

Micek stated that he returned to Lincoln and waited to receive his refund. Despite telephone calls to remind the respondent, Micek did not receive a check. Finally, Micek sought the assistance of a Lincoln attorney, Richard Scott. Scott telephoned the respondent and was informed that the $1,000 would be sent to Micek.

On October 10, 1983, not having received a check from the respondent, Micek returned to Grand Island. The respondent first told Micek that a check had already been sent. Shortly thereafter, the respondent wrote a check for $1,000 to Micek. Micek attempted to cash the check at the drawee bank but was told that there were insufficient funds in the account to cover the check. Upon his return to the Kelly office, Micek was told that the receipts from the previous day had not been deposited but that he could cash the check in a half hour or so. Funds were then deposited, and Micek was able to cash the check. Neither Richard Scott nor Micek ever received a check in the mail from the respondent.

On October 13, 1983, the respondent received notice of the filing of a complaint with the Counsel for Discipline of the Nebraska State Bar Association and was informed that he had 15 days to file a written response. His response was not received until November 21, 1983. The respondent had previously received an unrelated private reprimand from the Committee on Inquiry for the Fifth Disciplinary District on June 13, 1983. One of the specific recommendations in that reprimand was that "in the future, should any response be due the Counsel for Discipline by the Respondent, that it be done promptly as the rules provide...." In response to questioning by the Committee on Inquiry in regard to his late filing in the present matter, the respondent stated: "Quite frankly, I misread it and missed it [the 15-day filing period]; that's all. I did not try--Lord knows, after the last one I did not try and not follow any rules, believe me."

On February 21, 1984, written charges against respondent were filed with the Committee on Inquiry for the Fifth Disciplinary District. A hearing before the committee was held on March 15, 1984. The committee found reasonable grounds for discipline and the filing of formal charges. The Disciplinary Review Board also found grounds for discipline, and formal charges were filed in this court on June 18, 1984.

There was a hearing before the referee on March 4, 1985. The referee found that the respondent was guilty of the violations charged and that many of the respondent's problems were the result of alcoholism. The referee thought that a lengthy period of...