Norman Wessel

May 16, 2003

NORMAN A. WESSEL [#88320], 50,, of Kailua Kona, Hawaii, was disbarred May 16, 2003, and was ordered to comply with rule 955 of the California Rules of Court.

January 10, 2002

NORMAN ALTER WESSEL [88320], 49, of Kailua, Kona, Hawaii was suspended for two years, stayed, actually suspended for six months and until the State Bar Court grants a motion to terminate the suspension, and was ordered to take the MPRE and comply with rule 955. If the actual suspension exceeds two years, he must prove his rehabilitation. The order took effect Jan. 10, 2002. Wessel was suspended for six months by the Supreme Court of Hawaii as the result of mishandling a foreclosure action. He never filed the complaint and did not return his client's or his client's new lawyer's phone calls. The State Bar Court determined that his acts in Hawaii would have constituted the following misconduct had they been committed in California: failure to perform legal services competently, respond to status inquiries or cooperate with a bar investigation and improperly withdrawing from employment. In a second matter, he represented a client in a suspended driver's license case, and requested a $250 retainer. When Wessel did not return several phone calls, the client consulted a new lawyer and requested a refund of the retainer. The California bar court found that Wessel's conduct, had it occurred in California, would have included failure to perform competently, respond to reasonable status inquiries, return unearned fees, provide an accounting and cooperate with a bar investigation. In mitigation, Wessel has no record of discipline in California.