Washington Lawyer - January/February 2020 - 50

DISCIPLINARY SUMMARIES

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Disciplinary Actions Taken by the District
of Columbia Court of Appeals
Original Matters
In re Wesley L. Clarke. Bar No. 474594.
September 12, 2019. The D.C. Court of
Appeals disbarred Clarke by consent, effective October 25, 2019.
In re Larry C. Williams. Bar No. 14027.
September 12, 2019. The D.C. Court of
Appeals indefinitely suspended Williams,
effective immediately, based on disability
pursuant to D.C. Bar R. XI, § 13(c).
Interim Suspensions Issued by the
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
In re Charles A. Murray. Bar No. 59089.
September 19, 2019. Murray was suspended
on an interim basis based upon discipline
imposed in Florida.
In re Jinhee Kim Wilde. Bar No. 436659.
September 30, 2019. Wilde was suspended
on an interim basis pursuant to D.C. Bar R. XI,
§ 9(g), pending final action on the Board on
Professional Responsibility's July 31, 2019,
recommendation of disbarment.
Informal Admonitions Issued by the
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
In re Christopher E. Brown. Bar No. 458897.
September 5, 2019. Disciplinary Counsel
issued Brown an informal admonition. While
retained to represent a client in an employment discrimination matter, Brown failed to
provide competent representation and
failed to serve the client with skill and care
commensurate with that generally afforded
to clients by other lawyers in similar matters.
Rules 1.1(a) and 1.1(b).
In re Hsien-Cheng Chang. Bar No. 358007.
August 14, 2019. Disciplinary Counsel issued
Chang an informal admonition. While
retained to represent a married couple in an

immigration matter, Chang failed to represent the clients zealously and diligently
within the bounds of the law, and failed to
keep his clients reasonably informed about
the status of a matter and to promptly
comply with reasonable requests for information. Rules 1.3(a) and Rule 1.4(a).
In re Ronald A. Colbert. Bar No. 476137.
August 23, 2019. Disciplinary Counsel issued
Colbert an informal admonition. While
retained to represent a client in a civil matter,
Colbert failed to timely respond to motions
and failed to conduct discovery on the
client's behalf. In addition, he demanded
payment without providing an invoice and
withdrew from the matter the day before a
scheduled deposition. Rules 1.1(a), 1.3(a),
1.4(a), and 1.16(d).
In re James R. Klimaski. Bar No. 243543.
August 15, 2019. Disciplinary Counsel issued
Klimaski an informal admonition. Klimaski
incompetently represented a military aviator
who had been involuntarily removed from
flight duty because of an adverse medical
examination, and he charged the client an
unreasonable fee. Rules 1.1 and 1.5(a).
In re Cheryl D. Stein. Bar No. 256693. August
14, 2019. Disciplinary Counsel informally
admonished Stein for failing to keep
complete records of her IOLTA account.
Rule 1.15(a).
Disciplinary Actions Taken by the Board
on Professional Responsibility
Original Matters
In re Steven Kreiss. Bar No. 58297. September
17, 2019. The Board on Professional
Responsibility recommends that the D.C.
Court of Appeals publicly censure Kreiss.
Kreiss improperly imposed a lien on his
former client's file and failed to return it to
the client for several months, despite

repeated requests from successor counsel.
Rules 1.8(i) and 1.16(d).
In re Glenn H. Stephens III. Bar No. 472780.
September 25, 2019. The Board on
Professional Responsibility recommends that
the D.C. Court of Appeals disbar Stephens on
consent forthwith and without further consideration of the evidence in the case.
During the underlying proceedings, rather
than submit exhibits Stephens emailed
Disciplinary Counsel asking to be disbarred.
Because of this statement, the Board issued
an order to show cause why it should not
recommend his disbarment. Stephens did
not respond to the order. Two members of
the Board dissented with the majority's
decision to decline to provide the court with
a report and recommendation based on the
Board's review of the Hearing Committee's
findings and recommendations and with
their conclusion that Stephens should be
disbarred. They stated that the requirements
for consent to disbarment have not been
satisfied, and the Rules do not allow the
Board discretion to infer consent from
circumstances such as those presented in
this matter.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel compiled
the foregoing summaries of disciplinary
actions. Informal Admonitions issued by
Disciplinary Counsel and Reports and
Recommendations issued by the Board on
Professional Responsibility are posted at www.
dcattorneydiscipline.org. Most board recommendations as to discipline are not final until
considered by the court. Court opinions are
printed in the Atlantic Reporter and also are
available online for decisions issued since
August 1998. To obtain a copy of a recent slip
opinion, visit www.dccourts.gov/internet/
opinionlocator.jsf.

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50 WASHINGTON LAWYER

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
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Washington Lawyer - January/February 2020

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