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People v. Skaalerud8/10/1998
Original Proceeding in Discipline
ATTORNEY DISBARRED
The deputy disciplinary counsel and L. Crosby Skaalerud, the respondent in this lawyer discipline case, executed a stipulation, agreement, and conditional admission of misconduct. See C.R.C.P. 241.18. The conditional admission recommended that Skaalerud be disbarred. An inquiry panel of the supreme court grievance committee approved the conditional admission. We accept the conditional admission and order that Skaalerud be disbarred.
I.
Skaalerud was admitted to the Colorado bar in 1974. The conditional admission covers multiple counts contained in three formal complaints, Nos. GC 97A-58, GC 97A-92, and GC 98A-21, and provides as follows.
A. GC 97A-58 -- Helene Straight
Skaalerud represented Helene Straight in a personal injury case arising from an automobile accident on September 9, 1993, with an uninsured motorist. In December 1996, a settlement was negotiated between the insurer and Skaalerud acting on behalf of Helene Straight and her husband Stephen Straight (the insured). The Straights purportedly agreed to settle for $13,000. In fact, Skaalerud had not discussed the settlement amount with his client or obtained her authority to settle. He also did not tell her that he had settled her case.
The insurer's settlement check was made payable to Helene Straight and L. Crosby Skaalerud and was dated December 6, 1996. Skaalerud signed his name and the name of Helene Straight on the reverse side of the check and deposited it into his trust account. He did not inform his client that he had cashed the check.
On or about February 14, 1997, Skaalerud obtained Helene Straight's signature on a release and her agreement to settle for $13,000. Bank records show that Skaalerud had misappropriated the $13,000. The balance in his trust account on March 31, 1997, was $1.31. Helene Straight has not received any of the settlement proceeds.
When Straight called the insurer's claims supervisor, she was told that her case had been settled. When she saw a copy of the settlement check, she discovered that her signature on the check had been forged, and that her husband's signature on the release was also forged. Skaalerud had signed the release purporting to have witnessed the signatures on December 16, 1996.
Skaalerud has admitted that the foregoing conduct violated Colo. RPC 1.4 (failing to communicate appropriately with a client); Colo. RPC 1.15(a) (failing to hold client property separate from the lawyer's own property); Colo. RPC 1.15(b) (failing to deliver funds the client is entitled to receive); Colo. RPC 8.4(b) (committing a criminal act adversely reflecting on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness); Colo. RPC 8.4(c) (engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation); Colo. RPC 8.4(d) (engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of Justice); and Colo. RPC 8.4(g) (engaging in conduct violating accepted standards of legal ethics).
B. GC 97A-92
1. The Kleier Matter
A lawyer referred Donald L. Kleier to Skaalerud for the purpose of representing him in a workers' compensation matter. Kleier and Skaalerud entered into a fee agreement in July 1996 whereby Skaalerud would be entitled to 20% of the contested benefits that he obtained on Kleier's behalf. He also requested and obtained a power of attorney from Kleier. On October 10, 1996, the Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority (CCIA) filed a final admission of liability that showed Kleier had been paid a total of $19,757.02 in temporary total disability benefits, and that the permanent partial disabi
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