Malibu, CA 90264-6452
20 October 2002 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (21 years, 6 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 97-O-10740 |
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29 June 2001 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 00-O-11829 (22 years, 9 months ago) |
16 August 2000 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 97-O-10740 (23 years, 8 months ago) |
13 June 1984 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (39 years, 10 months ago) |
October 20, 2002 JEANNETTE TORREL MAGINNIS [#113476], 55, of Malibu was suspended for four years, stayed, placed on four years of probation with an actual two-year suspension and was ordered to prove her rehabilitation, take the MPRE and comply with rule 955. The order took effect Oct. 20, 2002. Maginnis stipulated to misconduct in two cases.Maginnis and her husband, John, practiced together as Maginnis & Maginnis. John Maginnis resigned from the bar with charges pending in 2002.Beginning in 1987, they represented a client in a personal injury claim. Between 1989 and 1993, the Maginnises received $2.16 million in settlement funds on behalf of their client, and after subtracting their fee, costs and payments to the client of $754,000, they were required to maintain $415,000 in a client trust account. At the client's request, they also had deposited $200,000 in an investment account.The balance in the client trust account fell below $415,000 at least three times before the account was closed. More than $11,000 was transferred to a new trust account, but no money was on deposit there for the client. Several weeks later, the lawyers wrote a check against the new client trust account for $140,000 to the U.S. Army to settle the client's medical lien.Over a seven-month period, the client made repeated phone calls to Maginnis & Maginnis requesting settlement funds. John Maginnis asked him to split the money set aside for the Army lien, but the client refused, saying he'd already received a percentage of the funds. Maginnis told the client he had invested all his settlement funds with his broker and it would take at least six months to retrieve the funds. The client did not receive the requested funds for almost two years.Jeannette Maginnis stipulated that she failed to maintain funds in trust, commingled funds and failed to pay out client funds when requested.In a second case, the firm represented a client in a legal malpractice claim, which settled for $200,000. The client received half but disputed that amount and returned the check to the Maginnises, who made no further payment for 19 months.They were to maintain a balance of $120,000 in their client trust account, but allowed it to fall below that amount repeatedly. The client hired a new lawyer, who sued the Maginnises.Maginnis stipulated to misappropriating client funds and failing to maintain client funds in a trust account.In a lengthy statement, she blamed her troubles on her husband, who she says abused her, made bad investments and suffered from depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. |