Attorneys — Discipline – Suspension – Trust Account Reconciliation – Flat Expense Fees

North Carolina State Bar v. Batchelor (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-16-0387, 14 pp.) (Sanford Steelman Jr., J.) Appealed from the Disciplinary Hearing Commission. N.C. App. Unpub.

Holding: Even though defendant believed he was properly reconciling his trust account, since he did not keep a ledger book and did not conduct a three-way reconciliation, his deviation from standard practice was sufficient evidence that he was intentionally acting in a manner from which he could foreseeably harm clients.

We affirm the Disciplinary Hearing Commission’s suspension of defendant’s license to practice law.

While defendant contends that no clients were actually harmed by his acts, the purpose of 27 NCAC 1B.0114(w)(1) is not only to punish those behaviors which harm clients, but also to deter those behaviors which may harm clients.

Where defendant charged each client a flat fee intended to cover his office expenses, it was not in any client’s interest to pay for costs not connected to his own case. For defendant to charge clients for additional office expenses or for work on other cases was to elevate his own interests above theirs.

Defendant failed to properly reconcile his own trust accounts. Such conduct negatively affected the reputation of the legal profession.

Defendant’s failure to grasp his own mistakes, coupled with his failure to seek assistance with the process, suggests a potential for future harm to his clients. Defendant was previously disciplined for his fee-charging practices and his handling of cases. This suggests a pattern of harmful deviation from professional rules. The DHC did not err in concluding that suspension was an appropriate sanction.

Affirmed.