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The Enforcement Unit April 2003
Attorney Robin Haffner works in the enforcement unit of the State Bar bringing disciplinary actions against attorneys charged with violating the ethical rules which govern attorney conduct. She used to be a criminal prosecutor but finds working for the State Bar more intellectually challenging. “We have cases involving attorneys who practice in all the different areas of the law, and I study these areas to understand the clients’ complaints. I find it very satisfying to protect the public from unscrupulous attorneys. Our most common cases involve attorneys who steal from their clients by taking money from the client’s trust account. The other common problem is abandonment, where an attorney takes a case and does nothing. The deadlines for filing papers are missed and the client can’t litigate the case.” She had a recent case where an attorney borrowed $25,000 from a client without following the proper rules and procedures and then failed to return the money. The attorney was suspended and the client recovered the money through the State Bar’s Client Security Fund (see accompanying article). She also teaches an ethics class to help keep lawyers from getting into trouble. “In law school, they don’t teach lawyers how to handle a client trust account with all the proper documentation.”
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