Eugene Button is an inactive member of the California Bar and was admitted 9th January 1969. Eugene graduated from Loyola Law School.
Lawyer Information
| Name | Eugene Button |
|---|---|
| First Admitted | 9 January 1969 (55 years, 4 months ago) |
| Status | Inactive |
| Bar Number | 43263 |
Contact
| Phone Number | 562-863-3006 |
|---|---|
| Fax Number | 562-863-3708 |
School
| Law School | Loyola Law School (Los Angeles CA) |
|---|
Address
| Current Address | 12440 Firestone Blvd #308 Norwalk, CA 90650-0876 |
|---|---|
| Map |
History
| 25 April 2006 | Inactive (18 years ago) |
|---|---|
| 6 December 2001 | Active (22 years, 5 months ago) |
| 10 October 2001 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (22 years, 6 months ago) Discipline w/actual suspension 99-O-12058 |
| 1 May 2000 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 99-O-12058 (24 years ago) |
| 16 April 1999 | Active (25 years ago) |
| 8 August 1997 | Discipline, probation; no actual susp. 93-O-19152 (26 years, 9 months ago) |
| 12 August 1996 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (27 years, 8 months ago) Suspended, failed to pay fees |
| 25 January 1996 | Inactive (28 years, 3 months ago) |
| 6 March 1995 | Disciplinary charges filed in State Bar Court 93-O-19152 (29 years, 2 months ago) |
| 28 February 1985 | Active (39 years, 2 months ago) |
| 9 July 1984 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (39 years, 10 months ago) Suspended, failed to pay fees |
| 1 October 1980 | Active (43 years, 7 months ago) |
| 27 December 1979 | Not eligible to practice law in CA (44 years, 4 months ago) Suspended, failed to pay fees |
| 9 January 1969 | Admitted to the State Bar of California (55 years, 4 months ago) |
Discipline Summaries
October 10, 2001 EUGENE BUTTON [#43263], 68, of Commerce was suspended for two years, stayed, placed on two years of probation with an actual 30-day suspension and was ordered to take the MPRE within one year. The order took effect Oct.10, 2001. The State Bar Court found that Button practiced law while not entitled, committed an act of moral turpitude and failed to cooperate with the bar’s investigation.Button became embroiled in a membership fee dispute with the State Bar when he wrote a letter in 1996 asking to be placed on inactive status. The letter went astray and he was not put on inactive status, but instead was suspended. He did not receive notice of the suspension because he had moved but not provided his new address to the bar. However, he later received a courtesy letter, at an alternative address, which explained the reinstatement process.Seven months later he contacted the bar about his suspension but never took any action.In 1998, considering returning to work, he contacted the bar again and said he should have been placed on inactive status in 1996. The bar sent him a reinstatement form and a corrected fee statement showing he owed $842 for back fees and penalties and $1,605 in discipline costs from a 1997 disciplinary matter. He eventually paid the full amount and was reinstated in April 1999.The previous year he was employed to represent a couple in a civil action. When the opposing counsel learned Button was not entitled to practice, she questioned him and he said he had a fee dispute with the bar but was entitled to practice. About a month later, the attorney again consulted the bar’s website and found Button listed as not entitled to practice.A letter from her firm put in writing Button’s assertion that he was an active member of the bar in good standing. Button did not respond to the letter.The bar court rejected Button’s arguments that the bar was to blame for his troubles, pointing out that he closed his office and left the state without changing his address. It also said Button knew he had not been reinstated when he was handling the civil action.August 8, 1997 EUGENE BUTTON [#43263], 64, of Pasadena was suspended for one year, stayed, and placed on probation for two years, effective Aug. 8, 1997. He was ordered to pass the MPRE. Button represented a Hong Kong cassette company in 1992 in a suit alleging that the company owed the plaintiff $800,000 for the purchase of blank video tapes. During the course of the proceedings, Button was called to testify concerning a statement he made during a pre-trial settlement meeting which he tape recorded. Button testified that he had not recorded the portion of the meeting he referred to in his declaration. His testimony led the court to believe that he had perjured himself in the declaration and his clients were sanctioned $6,428 by the court. In January 1993, in the course of transferring the case to new counsel, Button found evidence that he had recorded the entire meeting, indicating that his declaration was, in fact, true. He immediately filed a motion for reconsideration by the court, but it was denied. Button failed to pay and report to the State Bar $5,000 in sanctions imposed by the court in 1992 for inappropriate conduct during the trial. He also disobeyed a court order prohibiting him from taking further action in connection with the case. In aggravation, Button has a prior record of discipline. He was privately reproved in 1981. Also, his current misconduct harmed the administration of justice when, during the course of litigation, he failed to pay court-ordered sanctions. In mitigation, he provided an extraordinary demonstration of good character. Various people, including his client, contacted the State Bar and attested to Button’s honesty, integrity and attempts to act in good faith. Although Button admitted that he had not paid court-ordered sanctions, due to his advanced age, limited income and the fact that he is no longer practicing law, repayment was not required as a condition of the stipulation. |