Sacramento, CA 95819-3122
1 July 2014 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (10 years, 10 months ago) Admin Inactive/MCLE noncompliance |
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10 February 2011 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (14 years, 2 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 08-O-12718 |
11 September 2009 | Active (15 years, 7 months ago) |
1 July 2009 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (15 years, 10 months ago) Suspended, failed to pay fees |
29 December 1993 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (31 years, 4 months ago) |
February 10, 2011 ROBERT STEVEN TABOR [#169781], 48, of Sacramento was suspended for three years, stayed, placed on three years of probation with a two-year actual suspension and until he proves his rehabilitation and he was ordered to take the MPRE and comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. The order took effect Feb. 10, 2011. Tabor stipulated to eight counts of misconduct in two matters.In the first, his client received a $75,000 in settlement of a dispute. When Tabor tried to deposit the check in his client trust account, it was returned because the settlement draft was not funded. Instead, the money was wire transferred but Tabor inadvertently provided the number for his general account rather than his client trust account.He was entitled to $37,000 in legal fees and was to maintain $37,765 for his client. Tabor did not transfer the money to his trust account and allowed the balance to fall below the required amount, spending his client’s money for his personal use. Although he eventually transferred $37,000 to his client trust account and paid the client was he was owed, Tabor stipulated that he misappropriated client funds, committing an act of moral turpitude, and he failed to deposit client funds in a trust account, promptly pay out the funds or account for the money.In the second matter, Tabor represented a lawyer in a dispute with the wife of the lawyer’s deceased partner. The wife filed suit, but because Tabor did not respond, the court found his client in default. A new lawyer had the default set aside and the court ordered Tabor to pay the wife a sanction of $13,668. When he did not do so, the court ordered him to pay $1,000 to the State Bar Client Security Fund. He did not do so for more than a year. He also eventually paid the wife $21,461 to satisfy the sanction and interest.He stipulated that he did not obey court orders, and he failed to perform legal services competently or report the sanctions to the State Bar. He also stipulated that he did not cooperate with the bar’s investigation of his misconduct.In mitigation, he had no prior discipline record and he had emotional or physical problems at the time of the misconduct. |