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Read comments (12)That order came down from the Indiana Supreme Court on Friday as a result of an earlier decision by the court's Disciplinary Commission.
Attorney Douglas W. Patterson, formerly of Lyons, was found to have engaged in misconduct by his conversion of client funds, deceit in concealing his misconduct, and dishonesty with the Disciplinary Commission," Indiana State Supreme Court justices wrote.
Patterson, an L & M graduate, was admitted to the Indiana State Bar in 1989, and is known for his work on bankruptcy cases.
The suspension stems from accusations that surfaced in August 2000, when officials at a law firm Patterson had previously worked for accused him of writing five checks to himself in July 2000 from a client trust account, according to a published report in the Evansville Courier & Press.
When Patterson left the firm, he reportedly was told to stop making deposits into the trust account, and to destroy the old checks or turn them over to the firm's bookkeeper. The bookkeeper and another attorney who'd worked at the firm with Patterson did not know that Patterson continued to use the account.
On Aug. 17, 2000, the bookkeeper reportedly discovered that Patterson had written five checks to himself in July 2000, the Courier & Press reported.
When law firm officials confronted him, Patterson initially denied knowledge of the checks, then later admitted he'd written the checks and "spontaneously" added that he "did not have a gambling problem," the Courier & Press story stated.
A later audit revealed that Patterson had written other checks to himself in May 2000, and an additional suspicious transaction was noted from January 2000.
The checks totaled $10,500.
It was eventually determined that nearly all of the converted funds belonged to a single client, and Patterson reportedly repaid the money, according to the Courier.
Indianapolis-based attorney Kevin P. McGoff represented Patterson. He said despite the nature of the allegations, no criminal charges were ever filed.
The Indiana Supreme Court noted that after the three-year suspension -- which begins July 31 -- Patterson can be reinstated only if he complies with requirements set forth by the Disciplinary Commission.
"This includes demonstrating that his attitude toward his misconduct is one of genuine remorse and that he can safely be recommended to the legal profession, the courts and the public as a person fit to act in matters of trust and confidence," the judges wrote.
theft is theft, how much will my degree let me get away with?
Nothing could be farther from the truth. I stole a candy bar when I was little, my friend stole money from a homeless shelter. I paid for it when I got caught, he said he wouldn't and wasn't sorry. Theft is not theft. Ken lay of Enron stole money and was prosecuted. The local girl at the bar stole money and got fired. This world is full of varying degrees of theft and punishment based on the crime and the repentance. Our whole justice system is set up to TRY to asses the varying degrees of the same crime. Theft is not theft. It is not your degree that will help you it is what you stole, did you pay it back, will society benifet with you in jail or out. Are you truly sorry, and many other factors.
theft is theft, how much will my degree let me get away with?
I couldn't agree more, I was adressing the other points you made. I am quite sure that you are not trying to say that anyone caught stealing should never be allowed to work again. especially after living a life of eight years after the crime showing he can be trusted. He is and will pay for his crime. I was just pointing out that to say nothing happened to him was incorrect. I was also pointing out that someone that proves he is trustworthy after such an inccident is much different than someone that doesn't learn their lesson.
billhess he can still get a job of some kind it might not be the one he went to school for but who is to blame for that? Him.No one made him steal that money,he done it all on his own.He might regret getting busted and now he can't be a lawyer for the next 3 years but it doesn't change the fact that people trusted him and used that trust to steal from them.
"So for the people who think he did nothing wrong"
I have seen no one infer or say that he did nothing wrong
"do you trust him around your money?Would you let him keep your check book?"
Yes, he has proved himself for 8 years since his crime.
"He might be a good person to you but he still broke the law and got nothing for it."
I think you should look up the definition of nothing. There are some that think he should go to jail. Think about how many times you see someone in this paper get caught doing a similar thing. The fact is very few people go to jail for this kind of activity. For this to happen someone would have to press charges and in most cases the offended party feels that loosing your job for at least three years and most likely for ever is enough. I personally think that having your college degree turned worthless and loosing your career and starting over is a fair punishment.
The checks totaled $10,500.
So for the people who think he did nothing wrong,do you trust him around your money?Would you let him keep your check book?He might be a good person to you but he still broke the law and got nothing for it.
As for those who say this was a good person making a bad decision/mistake- this was not a one time act- He was told to stop and he didn't. He should be thankful that he is not heading off the prison like you or I would be had we done the same thing- theft is theft.
From what I read, this was an incident from eight years ago and outside of the county. Why even report on this? Does this mean if someone makes a mistake years ago, somewhere else that there will be a write up in the paper...?
I don't know this man. But to say whoever is free of sin cast the first stone. Free of sin is one thing ( which no man is), but free of the law is another. This man broke the law and just taking his license away for three years or ten years is a slap on the wrist. I believe he should have at least got something out of it even if he didn't even have to spend one night in jail.
It's just like stealing, but hey he's a lawyer so you think it makes it ok. If that were just a citizen of the community they would get the book threw at them.
I agree. I've known this man for a long time too, and I'm sure he's very sorry for his mistake. We all make mistakes, and we must move on with our lives. It would be easy to pile on, but let him get on with his life and hopefully in three years he will be back practicing law.
Good luck Doug.
Feel free to pile on all the lawyer jokes and digs. I have known this person for many years. This is a case of a good person making a bad decision/mistake. Many have and many will continue to trust him. So let the first who is free of sin cast the first stone.