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NEAL v. HOLLINGSWORTH6/24/1999
ed on Mr. Hollingsworth's behalf was impressive and that the acts complained of were not a pattern of conduct.
The trial court considered the aggravating and mitigating factors before concluding that Mr. Hollingsworth should be suspended from the practice of law for six months. By imposing the sanction of suspension from the practice of law, the trial court recognized that Mr. Hollingsworth's conduct was serious and warranted "a sanction terminating or restricting . . . license to practice law." Procedures, Section 7(B). Mr. Neal, however, strongly contends that the trial court's limited sanction does not match the seriousness of the misconduct committed and that the only appropriate sanction is disbarment.
In order to determine whether the trial court's imposition of a six-month suspension instead of disbarment was clearly erroneous, we review the trial court's specific findings regarding rule violations and aggravating and mitigating factors. First, the trial court found that Mr. Hollingsworth had treated the assets of the trust funds owned by the Sparks Estate as if they were his own and that Mr. Hollingsworth "knowingly diverted the funds of the Estate of Sam Sparks for his own use and did so over a period of time exceeding five (5) years." The trial court also found that between November 1989 and November 1994 the Sparks Estate should have had a balance of $107,888.07 in the trust account, but the trust account only had a fraction of that sum and at one point dipped as low as $186.21. Mr. Hollingsworth admitted that he used the estate's funds to pay claims against his law firm by other clients. When asked whether he would characterize his use of the estate's money as dishonest or selfish, Mr. Hollingsworth testified as follows:
Q: Let me ask you, sir, if you would agree with me that if what you did was to take money out of your trust account, owned by the Estate of Sam Sparks, and used that money to pay claims of other clients, as you have described that you had done, don't you agree that is dishonest to use the estate's money to pay claims against your law firm by other clients, do you agree with that?
A: I cannot characterize it as dishonest.
Q: Do you think it is selfish to use funds belonging to one client to pay claims lodged by another client, do you think that's selfish
to the extent that you are protecting your own self against those claims from other clients, do you think that's selfish?
A: I do not consider it selfish, I cannot characterize that by using that adjective.
Next, the trial court found that Mr. Hollingsworth did not file required annual accountings in the probate action because "his diversion of funds" would have been discovered. Similarly, when Mrs. Sparks, as executrix of the Sparks Estate, began to ask Mr. Hollingsworth in 1992 for an accounting of the trust account funds, he "stonewalled" her requests. The letters Mrs. Sparks wrote to Mr. Hollingsworth are particularly poignant. Mrs. Sparks was the victim of the misuse and clearly was kept in the dark about what was happening. What follows is a sampling from some of her many letters:
November 26, 1992:
If there is a reason you can't provide me with this information please let me know. I have requested this information several times in the past three years and have not received it and I am uncomfortable with your reluctance to provide me with an accounting of the money you are holding in trust for the Estate of Sam Sparks.
December 18, 1992:
There is still a misunderstanding regarding my concerns about the estate. When I met with you on October 6th, I left with the idea that you w
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