In re Bohmueller

Summary

This Pennsylvania disciplinary matter concerns Barry O. Bohmueller’s participation in an estate-planning business that marketed living trusts through nonlawyers. The findings address unauthorized practice of law, inadequate client communication, undisclosed fee sharing and conflicts, misleading advertising, and omissions from attorney registration forms. The Disciplinary Board adjudicated the matter on January 15, 2014, following a hearing committee recommendation of a two-year suspension.

Holdings

1. Bohmueller violated the Rules of Professional Conduct by assisting nonlawyers in practicing law through a living-trust marketing and delivery scheme in which nonlawyers solicited clients, provided legal advice, gathered estate-planning information, and explained legal documents without adequate attorney supervision.
2. Bohmueller violated Rules 1.2(a) and 1.4(b) by failing to communicate with clients about their representation and estate-planning objectives and by allowing nonlawyers to provide advice and explanations that he was required to provide.
3. Bohmueller violated the professional-conduct rules by sharing fees without client disclosure, permitting conflicts arising from his financial interests, assisting and ratifying misconduct by others, engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, and omitting two IOLTA accounts from annual attorney-registration forms.
4. Disbarment was warranted because Bohmueller engaged in an egregious, four-year pattern of assisting the unauthorized practice of law, misleading and failing to advise predominantly elderly clients, improperly sharing fees, misrepresenting his practice, concealing IOLTA accounts, and showing no remorse.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence established that Bohmueller assisted nonlawyers in the unauthorized practice of law.
2. Whether Bohmueller violated professional-conduct rules by failing to communicate with and advise clients adequately and by permitting nonlawyers to counsel clients concerning estate-planning documents.
3. Whether Bohmueller violated rules governing fee sharing, conflicts of interest, supervision, nonlegal services, and dishonesty.
4. Whether the totality of the misconduct warranted disbarment rather than the hearing committee's recommended two-year suspension.

Disposition

other