Ethics

Entered on August 21, 2014, the North Carolina State Bar suspended Lynne Hicks, for two years with a stay of three years as long as she complies with the order. Hicks was suspended from practicing law for two years for misappropriating funds in the trust accounts she maintained for clients in violation of Rules 1.15-2 and 1.15-3 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Hicks was disciplined in 2006 for improper trust account management. Hicks was subject to a random audit again in 2012. Hicks [...]

On July 24, 2014, the Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar met and reprimanded Attorney William Noel, III. Noel represented a client in a number of traffic matters and failed to appear on behalf of his client in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Noel failed to respond to his client despite his efforts to communicate and failed to refund the fee the client paid. The office was being managed by the office manager without any supervision by Noel. The Committee found [...]

Entered on August 12, 2014,Kenneth Free was publicly reprimanded for violating his professional duties as a lawyer by failing to appeal for his client who asked him to do so. Lawyers practicing in this state owe to their clients the duties of competence, diligence, and communication, among many others. Particularly, as per the Plan of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Implementation of the Criminal Justice Act, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals stated that each [...]

On July 22, 2014, the North Carolina State Bar disbarred Richard Polidi. Polidi received funds in connection with the representation of a client that were assigned to a third party. He used the funds for his own benefit and the client’s without the authorization of the third party, in violation of Rule 1.15-2 and Rule 8.4 of the Rules of Professional Conduct. He ultimately transferred the funds to the client in an amount at least equal to the entrusted funds that he received in connection [...]

On June 12, 2014, a hearing panel of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission disbarred Sue Mako.  The Panel found that Mako failed to maintain accurate general ledgers, failed to maintain complete and accurate individual client ledgers, and failed to perform quarterly reconciliations of her trust account. She failed to properly maintain entrusted funds of her clients. Mako continued to spend funds that were not present in her trust account, and used funds for her own benefit without returning [...]

On June 18, 2014, a Hearing Panel of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission suspended Mary Phillips. Phillips failed to file annual accountings regarding a client’s estate, failed to respond to orders of the Clerk, failing to close out the client’s estate nearly five years after the estate was opened violating the duty of diligence and promptness in representing clients. She also ignored rules of the tribunals in this representation. She failed to respond to various parties invested in the [...]

Entered on June 12, 2014, the North Carolina State Bar suspended Roydera Hackworth for five years for the unauthorized practice of law in violation of Rule 5.5 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, making a false statement of material fact in connection with a disciplinary matter in violation of Rule 8.1, engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation in violation of Rule 8.4, and for violating the conditions of her suspension. In 2011, Hackworth began [...]

On January 23, 2014, a Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar met and reprimanded Attorney Jennifer Moore. Jennifer Moore represented a parent in a child support matter originating in another state, and reported to the client that she had been actively negotiating with opposing counsel, when in fact only 1.3 hours of work in ten months was recorded. The Committee found that Moore failed to actively pursue the client’s interests for a long period of time, Rule 1.3 of the Rules of [...]

On October 14, 2014, Kevin L. Byrd of Cary voluntarily consented to being transferred to disability inactive status.  Byrd suffers from bipolar disorder and depression, two conditions which impair his judgement, competence, and professional performance as an attorney. The procedure for a consensual transfer to disability inactive status is detailed in the North Carolina State Bar’s administrative rules (see Subchapter B, Rule .0118(b)).  Based on clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, the [...]

Christopher V. Vaughan of Hoke County surrendered his law license on August 14, 2014 and was officially disbarred the next day. Vaughan had nine grievances filed against him with the North Carolina State Bar from May 2011 to October 2013. The grievances mainly arose when Vaughan failed to appear in court on behalf of clients who had paid him to represent them in traffic cases. Several clients had their driver’s licenses suspended or revoked without their knowledge due to [...]

Russell W. Warnock of Asheville was censured by the Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar on August 15, 2014. Warnock was retained in 2011 by J.F. to file a patent application. J.F. emailed Warnock in May 2012 to inquire into the status of the application, to which Warnock replied after a long delay that the application was moving forward. In May 2013, Warnock told J.F. in an email that the “patent application is in the queue but needs an updated Inventor statement.” [...]

Karen Wright of Shelby received a reprimand from the Grievance Committee of the North Carolina State Bar on May 22, 2014. Wright was hired by two brothers in 2009 to settle the estates of their parents. She failed to settle the estates in a timely matter, in violation of Rule 1.3 of the North Carolina Rules of Professional Conduct. In addition, Wright violated Rule 1.4(a)(3) by failing to keep the beneficiaries informed about the status of the estate and Rule 1.4(a)(4) by failing to promptly [...]