In the Matter of Disciplinary Action Against Eugene F. Buresh

Summary

The Supreme Court of North Dakota held that Eugene F. Buresh violated professional-conduct rules by converting client funds, mishandling a trust account, and deceiving a client. The court ordered him disbarred, required restitution of $30,946.45 plus interest to Jennifer Jacobs, and assessed $3,126.00 in disciplinary costs; the chief justice dissented in favor of an eighteen-month suspension.

Holdings

1. The evidence clearly and convincingly established that Buresh violated North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15(a) and (b) by failing to safeguard and promptly deliver client funds, and violated North Dakota Rule of Lawyer Discipline 1.2(A)(3) by engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
2. Disbarment was the appropriate sanction because Buresh knowingly converted client property, caused substantial injury, repeatedly deceived the client for his own benefit, and had aggravating factors that outweighed his mitigating factors.
3. A criminal conviction was not a condition precedent to attorney discipline where the facts themselves warranted discipline.

Questions Presented

1. Whether clear and convincing evidence established that Buresh violated North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15(a) and (b) and North Dakota Rule of Lawyer Discipline 1.2(A)(3).
2. Whether disbarment, rather than the hearing panel's recommended eighteen-month suspension, was the appropriate sanction for Buresh's conversion of client funds and repeated deception.

Disposition

other