James Vincent Reiss was admitted to the California Bar 17th June 1987, but has since been disbarred. James graduated from Seattle University SOL.
Lawyer Information
| Name | James Vincent Reiss |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 17 June 1987 (37 years, 10 months ago) |
| Status | Disbarred |
| Bar Number | 128020 |
Contact
| Phone Number | 909-483-0515 |
|---|---|
| Fax Number | 909-980-7945 |
Schools
| Law School | Seattle University SOL (Seattle WA) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate School | Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles CA) |
Address
| Current Address | Reiss & Johnson, 10535 Foothill Blvd #410 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 |
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| Map |
History
| 16 March 2013 | Disbarred (12 years, 1 month ago) Disbarment 09-O-10499 |
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| 2 March 2012 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (13 years, 2 months ago) Ordered inactive 09-O-10499 |
| 1 January 2012 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (13 years, 4 months ago) Inactive - Irreparable injury (6007c) 11-TE-18592 |
| 8 August 2011 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 09-O-10499 (13 years, 9 months ago) |
| 8 August 2011 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 09-O-12479 (13 years, 9 months ago) |
| 17 June 1987 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (37 years, 10 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
March 16, 2013 JAMES VINCENT REISS [#128020], 51, of Rancho Cucamonga, was disbarred March 16, 2013, and was ordered to make restitution and comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. The State Bar Court found that Reiss committed 10 acts of misconduct involving five client matters between 2000 and 2010. The hearing judge found that he took client money by false pretenses, lied to the court and to his clients about the status of cases, forged a client’s signature on a settlement agreement, retained unearned fees, failed to render a proper accounting, wrote non-sufficient funds checks, made client loans without proper disclosure and consent and failed to cooperate with a State Bar investigator. Reiss claimed that the State Bar failed to prove him culpable of the misconduct except for one count of improperly loaning money to a client.A three-judge review panel adopted all of the hearing judge’s findings and upheld the disbarment recommendation, writing that Reiss repeatedly took advantage of several clients by “deceiving them and taking their money.†The review panel also found Reiss culpable of taking $68,500 from a client by false pretenses and of forging his client's name to a settlement agreement without the client's knowledge or consent. The panel agreed with the hearing judge who noted that Reiss “demonstrated a profound detachment from the honesty and integrity that serve as pillars for the legal community.†Reiss also showed lack of insight or remorse.In one of the matters for which he was disbarred, Reiss failed to refund $25,000 a client had overpaid in advance fees. On three different occasions, Reiss sent the client checks to cover the costs, all of which bounced due to lack of funds. Reiss ended his representation of the client in 2009 and has not made any payments since.Reiss received limited mitigation for good character and community service. |