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Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct v. Jones2/16/2000
sentations to him. In fact, Delbert testified he told Jones as much: "I said, 'Okay.' I said, 'I don't know [Currie], but I'll make the loan because I know you, and I know you're going to do right by me. You always have done right by me.'" Delbert further testified that he made the loan because Jones assured him that Currie was "good" for the money and promised he—Delbert—would make a $10,000 profit.
Jones knew the venture was risky. He should have conveyed this information to Delbert, an obviously unsophisticated and elderly gentlemen. At the very least, he should have explained to Delbert that American banks had refused to loan money for the insurance premium because of concern over the stability of the Nigerian government and fraudulent transactions coming out of that country. Jones should also have told Delbert about the several other individuals who indicated they were not interested in making the loan. Finally, Jones should have told Delbert about Currie's promise of a $2 million annuity if Jones were successful in securing a lender and obtaining payment of the $25,300,000. The record clearly shows that, while Delbert may not have looked to Jones for legal advice, he clearly looked to him for protection.
What also concerns us is the urgency for the loan. Jones should not have rushed Delbert into making a decision during two weekend days, thereby depriving Delbert of any real opportunity to seek outside advice.
We agree with the commission that Jones' misstatements and omissions constituted misrepresentation in violation of DR 1-102(A)(4) and reflected adversely on his fitness to practice law in violation of DR 1-102(A)(6).
II. Discipline.
The commission gave no reason for its recommendation of public reprimand. While we give respectful consideration to the findings and recommendations of the commission, we disagree with the commission's recommendation in this case.
In the past, we have publicly reprimanded Jones, and we take that into consideration in imposing discipline. See Iowa Supreme Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Wagner, 599 N.W.2d 721, 730 (Iowa 1999) (holding that prior discipline is an aggravating factor). We also take into consideration that Jones' conduct caused Delbert harm. See id. (holding that harm is an aggravating factor).
These aggravating factors together with the nature of the present violation convince us that the appropriate discipline is suspension. We therefore suspend Jones' license to practice law in this state with no possibility of reinstatement for two months from the filing date of this opinion. This suspension shall apply to all facets of the practice of law. See Ct. R. 118.12. Any application for reinstatement shall be governed by Court Rule 118.18. As a condition of reinstatement, Jones shall make restitution to Delbert for the amount of the $5000 loan and all interest Delbert has paid in connection with the loan.
Costs are assessed to Jones under Court Rule 118.22.
LICENSE SUSPENDED.
All justices concur except Lavorato, Larson, and Neuman, JJ., who dissent.
LAVORATO, Justice (dissenting).
I dissent because I think for several reasons the discipline in this case is too severe.
First, we have a lawyer here who has been in practice for forty-seven years. Except for a previous reprimand, his record is unblemished. The public reprimand occurred in 1986 for a minor probate delinquency, conduct totally unrelated to what was charged here. See Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Wunschel, 461 N.W.2d 840, 848 (Iowa 1990) (imposing reprimand even though lawyer had previously been reprimanded
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