NOTICE OF REPRIMAND WITH CONDITIONS (By Consent)
Case No. 01-22-GA Notice Issued: July 3, 2001 James E. Bliss, P-41577, Lansing, Michigan, by Attorney Discipline Board Ingham County Hearing Panel #1.
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Reprimand;
Effective July 3, 2001.
The respondent and the Grievance Administrator filed a stipulation for a consent order of discipline in accordance with MCR 9.115(f)(5) which was approved by the Attorney Grievance Commission and accepted by the hearing panel. Respondent pled no contest to the allegations of professional misconduct contained in Count Two of Formal Complaint 01-22-GA, specifically: That respondent accepted two personal loans from his client and entered into a promissory note with his client, but did not reduce any of the transactions to writing; and employed his client as his office manager, but did not enter into a written employment contract which set forth terms which were fair to his client and never compensated his client for his services. Further, respondent negotiated a reduction in a down payment he owed to his client in exchange for unspecified future legal services, but did not reduce that agreement to writing, never obtained his client's written consent to the agreement, and never provided an accounting of the legal services provided in satisfaction of the agreement. Respondent's conduct was in violation of MCR 9.104(1)-(4); and Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct 1.8(a); and 8.4(a) and (c). The parties agreed that Count One of Formal Complaint 01-22-GA may be dismissed and that an order of reprimand with conditions may be entered.
The hearing panel ordered that respondent be reprimanded with conditions relevant to the established misconduct. Costs were assessed in the amount of $70.45.