Legal Ethics
Utah Attorney Is Disbarred for Using $122,500 Settlement Check for Law Firm Operating Expenses
Suspended in 1993 for misuse of a client trust account, Clayne Corey got no leniency from the Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday.
Although a district court judge suggested a stayed suspension would be appropriate, because the attorney “did not intend to cause harm or injury” by depositing a $122,500 settlement check for a client into his law firm operating fund and using it to pay ordinary expenses, the state’s top court disbarred him, reports the Salt Lake Tribune.
The settlement check was issued in 1999. The client’s loss was partially reimbursed by the firm and she sued Corey to get the rest, the article says.
