The Missouri Supreme Court has suspended for at least six months the license of a Blue Springs attorney who had an affair with his client while he was representing her on a child-custody matter. The court suspended Michael Spiegel, a ...

Tagged with: attorney-client affair Michael Spiegel Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel

Trust-account violations led the Missouri Supreme Court to discipline three Missouri attorneys — including disbarring one and suspending another — on March 17. The court ordered disbarment for Kristy Lynn Ridings, a St. Louis attorney. The court found she’d violated ...

Tagged with: Henry V. Griffin Jerry A. Hollon Kristy Lynn Ridings Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel trust-account violations

The Missouri Supreme Court is considering what discipline an attorney should receive for having an affair with a client while representing her.

Tagged with: attorney-client affair Michael Spiegel Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel

A Jackson County judge has recommended that a North Kansas City attorney be found guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced to a month in jail for allegedly continuing to practice after his license was suspended last year. The ruling — ...

Tagged with: Allan H. Bell criminal contempt Judge Mary Weir Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel

The Missouri Supreme Court has disbarred a St. Louis lawyer who already was suspended in connection with his representation of the now-closed bankruptcy firm Critique Services after he failed to timely respond to a disciplinary filing. On Dec. 24, the ...

Tagged with: Critique Services Elbert A. Walton Jr. Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel

Missouri attorneys who fail to comply with court orders in their personal lives — including court-ordered child-support obligations — may find themselves in trouble with the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel following an update to the Rules of Professional Conduct. ...

Tagged with: child-support obligations Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel Rules of Professional Conduct

The Missouri Supreme Court has disbarred a Crane attorney in a case in which the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel had sought only a one-year suspension. The court entered its order disbarring John Dale Wiley on Nov. 19. In March, ...

Tagged with: Crane disbarment John Dale Wiley John Kevin Sheehan Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel

The Missouri Supreme Court has stayed a one-year suspension and ordered 18 months of probation in the cases of two Riverside family law attorneys who admitted to violating ethics rules in their handling of a contentious child-custody dispute. The court’s ...

Tagged with: Mandee Pingel Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel Patrick M. Davis probation

The Missouri Supreme Court on Oct. 29 disbarred Kansas City attorney John W. Stapleton Jr. In an order, the court found that Stapleton, who got his law license in 1987, had violated several rules concerning client funds in his trust ...

Tagged with: John W. Stapleton Jr. Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel Terry Lee Garner trust account

The Missouri Supreme Court on Oct. 15 disbarred an attorney who settled a lawsuit without her client’s consent and failed to disclose the settlement until confronted by another lawyer. The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel charged Stacey Rosa Hancock with ...

Tagged with: Anissa Faye Bluebaum Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel Stacey Rosa Hancock

The Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 17 ordered a suspension of at least six months for an attorney who had a sexual relationship with a client. The discipline matches what the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel had argued was appropriate ...

Tagged with: attorney-client affair ethics Missouri Supreme Court Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel Stephen G. Bell