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Client
Protection Fund Approves $63,000 in Claims
Misconduct
included failure to return unearned fees and converting a retainer to a
personal account without earning it.
By STAFF
Summer 2013
The board of the Attorneys’ Fund for Client Protection approved
four claims totaling $63,000 at its quarterly meeting in June.
The action brings the fund’s total dispersal since its 1999
inception to just over $5.2 million.
The four matters approved by the board and the attorney
respondents involved were:
· $45,000
Robert C. Cain, for failing to return a portion
of his client’s settlement balance.
· $5,009
Robert D. Gustafson, for failure to maintain
unearned fees at the time of his death.
· $10,000
Robert T. McAllister, for converting an unearned
retainer to his personal account.
· $3,000
Themia E. Sandven, for failure
to perform work for fees paid.
The purpose of the fund is to promote public confidence in
the administration of justice and the integrity of the legal profession by
mitigating losses caused by the dishonest conduct of attorneys. The fund was
established in 1999 and is funded solely through a portion of attorneys’ annual
registration fees.
Except for the payment on behalf of the
late Robert D. Gustafson, all the other attorneys listed above have been suspended
or disbarred by the Court.
If you know of any person who has
suffered a loss of money due to the dishonest conduct or breach of fiduciary
duty by the person’s Colorado lawyer, please notify James Coyle, Attorney
Regulation Counsel at (303) 457-5800.
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