Ronald William Ask

Ronald William Ask is an active member of the California Bar and was admitted 28th January 1982. Ronald graduated from Western State University.

Lawyer Information

Name	Ronald William Ask
First Admitted	28 January 1982 (42 years, 3 months ago)
Status	Active
Bar Number	103895
Sections	Trusts & Estates

Contact

Current Email	[email protected]
Phone Number	951-684-5608
Fax Number	951-684-1106

Schools

Law School	Western State University (CA)
Undergraduate School	California St University Long Beach (CA)

Address

Current Address	3600 Lime St Ste 412 Riverside, CA 92501-0917
Map

History

9 June 2007	Active (16 years, 10 months ago)
9 June 2006	Not eligible to practice law in CA (17 years, 10 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 02-O-13206
22 February 2005	Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 04-O-15322 (19 years, 2 months ago)
7 January 2005	Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 04-O-14282 (19 years, 3 months ago)
14 October 2004	Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 04-O-12930 (19 years, 6 months ago)
25 August 2004	Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 04-O-11518 (19 years, 8 months ago)
27 May 2004	Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 02- O-13206 (19 years, 11 months ago)
11 June 2000	Active (23 years, 10 months ago)
11 June 1999	Not eligible to practice law in CA (24 years, 10 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 95-O-18433
29 January 1998	Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 95-O-18433 (26 years, 3 months ago)
15 September 1993	Active (30 years, 7 months ago)
28 March 1992	Not eligible to practice law in CA (32 years, 1 month ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 89-C-11766
15 September 1989	Not eligible to practice law in CA (34 years, 7 months ago) Interim suspension after conviction 89-C-11766
28 January 1982	Admitted to the State Bar of California (42 years, 3 months ago)

Discipline Summaries

June 9, 2006

RONALD WILLIAM ASK [#103895], 71, of Riverside was suspended for two years, stayed, placed on seven years of probation and was ordered to take the MPRE, comply with rule 955 and prove his rehabilitation. The order took effect June 9, 2006.

In 1999, Ask was suspended from practice for a year and agreed to allow attorney Scot D. Stirling to take over his practice, which had offices in Riverside and Palm Springs. He had employed Stirling for two years as an hourly employee. Ask remained at his firm as a clerk. Stirling was 34 years old at the time, had been a lawyer for two years and had no prior experience running a law firm or any other business.

Shortly after Askâ€™s suspension began, the Inland Empire Law Corp. (IELC) was formed, with Stirling as the CEO, sole officer and director of the company. It operated at the same addresses as Askâ€™s offices and Ask became an employee of IELC and Stirling. Ask was obligated for the leases on both premises, IELC employed the same personnel as the solo practice Ask operated before his suspension, and when his suspension ended, he continued to work for IELC as an attorney.

Stirling began to reduce his hours, resulting in numerous abandonments of clients. In 2002, IELC became defunct and a new business called Law Offices of Scot D. Stirling was formed. Ask continued as Stirlingâ€™s employee for less than a year, when the two ended their working relationship. Ask continued to work at his original offices.

He was charged with misconduct in 40 cases and stipulated to misconduct in 33. The remaining cases were dismissed. In each matter, he admitted that he failed to provide guidance and assistance to IELC, thereby knowingly assisting in the failure to refund unearned fees and the failure to perform legal services competently. Also in each matter, either IELC or Stirling failed to perform legal services.

In a typical matter, for instance, IELC was retained to prepare a living trust and Medi-Cal planning for a clientâ€™s mother. The client and his wife paid a $2,900 fee but when they went to Stirlingâ€™s office to sign various documents, they were informed he had moved. The clients fired Stirling and requested a refund of their fee. When the mother died, they again sought a refund without any success.

Another couple was advised they could qualify for Medi-Cal and that IELC would provide the necessary legal services for $14,200 in advance fees. The husband paid the fee, but his wife died about a month later, before IELC qualified her for Medi-Cal. Although IELC staff told the husband he was entitled to a $12,000 refund, Stirling indicated the client was owed $9,788. He later sent the client a check for $200.

As part of his stipulation, Ask agreed to make restitution to 35 clients in excess of $70,000.

He was disciplined in 1999 for nine counts of misconduct in six client matters and in 1992 following a conviction for five counts of grand theft and one count of conspiracy. He also was placed on interim suspension in 1989 as a result of the conviction.

In mitigation, he cooperated with the barâ€™s investigation.

June 11, 1999

RONALD WILLIAM ASK [#103895], 64, of Riverside was suspended for three years, stayed, placed on five years of probation with a one-year suspension and until he makes restitution and was ordered to take the MPRE within one year and comply with rule 955. If the actual suspension exceeds two years, he must prove his rehabilitation. The order took effect June 11, 1999.

Ask stipulated to nine counts of misconduct in six client matters.

In the first, he shared fees with a non-attorney who operated a business preparing living trusts for sale to the public. At first, Ask received a fee for each trust he helped prepare and for attending group seminars on trusts.

He later changed the business arrangements so that he collected fees for preparing and reviewing the clients' living trusts, then shared those fees with the woman who operated the business.

He stipulated that he illegally shared fees with a non-lawyer and that he assisted her in the unauthorized practice of law.

In a child custody case, Ask's client made two advance fee payments totalling $2,250. Mistakenly believing only $1,500 had been paid, his staff demanded additional fees before Ask would appear at a scheduled hearing. When the client did not pay more fees, Ask did not appear. He then substituted out of the matter without giving his client proper notice or giving her enough time to find another lawyer.

Another client asked for minor changes in her living trust, but only received those changes five months later, after complaining to the State Bar.

In a bankruptcy case in which Ask was replaced by another attorney, he did not pay that attorney her share of the fees until he was notified by the bar that a complaint had been filed against him. Ask failed to perform legal services competently or refund unearned advance fees in another bankruptcy matter, and he wrote two bad checks, totaling $6,000, on his client trust account.

Ronald Ask