Bar Discipline Roundup: Charlotte attorney disbarred after child porn conviction, Hickory lawyer suspended again

Attorney: Mark Kevin Seifert

Location: Charlotte

Bar membership: Member since 2000

Disciplinary action: Disbarred on Feb. 3

Background: On Feb. 3, Seifert entered a guilty plea in Wake County court to nine felony counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. Judgment was entered convicting him of three of those charges. Seifert filed an affidavit surrendering his bar license the same day.

Previous discipline: None

Attorney: Robert W. Adams

Location: Hickory

Bar membership: Member since 1972

Disciplinary action: Suspended for four years on Jan. 31

Background: Adams failed to keep client property and personal property separate, comingling the two by depositing fees into an account that also held entrusted client funds. He also failed to maintain adequate records or reconcile the account quarterly. A random audit of the trust account in 1996 revealed deficiencies in trust account management that Adams agreed to correct, but they persisted, causing the account to have insufficient funds. Adams may seek a stay of the remaining suspension after two years.

Previous discipline: Adams was censured in 1997 for failing to diligently attend to a client’s matter. In 1996 he had been reprimanded for failing to respond timely to the grievance that client filed, and as a result of those matters, he received a stayed suspension in 1997. In 2000, he was suspended for five years for failure to pay taxes, although all but nine months of the suspension was stayed. Records show he was also reprimanded in 1991 and admonished in 1994.

Attorney: Gregory A. Bullard

Location: Pembroke

Bar membership: Member since 2000

Disciplinary action: Suspended for two years on Jan. 31. The suspension was stayed for five years upon compliance with certain conditions.

Background: A random audit of Bullard’s trust account revealed numerous problems with documentation, including failure to maintain client ledgers for each person from whom funds were received, conduct monthly and quarterly reconciliations, or always identify the source of funds on deposit slips. Bullard missed multiple extensions to correct the deficiency. In 2011, Bullard signed a contract with the bar’s Trust Account Compliance Program, but Bullard failed to comply with its terms.

Previous discipline: None

All information contained in the Bar Discipline Roundup is compiled from reports provided by the North Carolina State Bar.