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Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct v. McKittrick6/16/2004
On review of the report of the Grievance Commission.
Grievance Commission reports that respondent has committed ethical misconduct and recommends a public reprimand. LICENSE SUSPENDED.
The Iowa Supreme Court Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct charged Deborah K. McKittrick with several violations of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers based on her conduct in representing a client in a dissolution action and her subsequent conduct in collecting fees for her services from the client. The Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa found McKittrick violated the Code of Professional Responsibility. It recommended McKittrick receive a public reprimand. On our review, we find McKittrick violated the Code, and impose an indefinite suspension of not less than three months.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Deborah K. McKittrick is a lawyer in Ankeny, Iowa. She was admitted to the practice of law in 1989. She primarily practices in the area of family law, and also works as a mediator. She is a former member of the Family Law Committee of the Iowa State Bar Association, and served as a member of a division of the Grievance Commission.
In July 1995, McKittrick agreed to represent Mary Jo Walker in a domestic abuse proceeding and a subsequent dissolution action. A written attorney fee contract was executed, providing for compensation based on an hourly fee, billed on a monthly basis. Among other provisions, the contract imposed a service charge of "1.5% per month on all unpaid balances."
The paramount dispute in the dissolution action concerned the designation of the primary caretaker of the parties' daughter. Following a temporary custody hearing, Walker was awarded temporary primary care of the child. A trial was then set for March 26, 1996.
In September 1995, opposing counsel sent written interrogatories to McKittrick. McKittrick forwarded the interrogatories to Walker for her to answer, but did not inform her of a deadline to respond. On December 27, 1995, opposing counsel filed a motion to compel answers to the interrogatories, after he had written McKittrick on December 1, requesting the answers be served. The district court ordered the answers to be served within thirty days.
McKittrick served the answers to the interrogatories on January 31, 1996. Opposing counsel claimed some of the answers to questions requesting information about the witnesses Walker intended to call at trial were incomplete. After the two lawyers were unable to resolve the dispute, opposing counsel filed a motion for sanctions.
On March 12 the district court ordered that McKittrick serve complete answers to the disputed interrogatories within seven days. The court also informed the attorneys that sanctions would be considered immediately prior to trial.
McKittrick transmitted a witness list to opposing counsel by fax on March 18 but did not serve answers to the disputed interrogatories as ordered by the district court. On March 20, opposing counsel filed a motion to exclude witnesses and exhibits at trial.
On March 26, prior to the commencement of the trial, the district court considered sanctions and ordered most of Walker's witnesses excluded for the failure to comply with the order of March 12. The case then proceeded to trial. McKittrick did not call any witnesses other than Walker. In the dissolution decree that followed, the district court designated Walker's husband as the primary caretaker of the parties' daughter.
Walker discharged McKittrick after the decree was entered and employed another attorney, who unsuccessfully sought to overturn th
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