A former California State Bar executive director should be placed on one year of probation for allegedly misleading the State Bar’s Board of Trustees by falsely saying that no State Bar funds would be used for a 2014 trip to Mongolia, a judge has decided.
Judge Yvette Roland handed down the decision in the case of attorney Joseph Dunn, a former state senator, on July 24 in the State Bar Court in Los Angeles. Other counts of failing to follow provisions of the state Business and Professions Code had been filed against Dunn, but they were ultimately dismissed due to statute-of-limitations issues.
The remaining charges involve making misrepresentations to the board about Dunn’s 2014 trip and breaching his fiduciary duty as the State Bar’s executive director.
“After reviewing the evidence and arguments presented by both parties, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that (the) respondent (Dunn) is culpable of both remaining charges,” Roland said in her decision. “Given the nature and extent of the misconduct, along with the substantial mitigating factors and the absence of aggravation, the court recommends that respondent receive a one-year stayed suspension and a one-year probation with standard conditions.”
No monetary sanctions were included in the judge’s ruling. The State Bar’s special deputy trial counsel (SDTC), Stacia Laguna, is currently reviewing the court’s decision. The state Supreme Court has the final word on attorney discipline cases.
“Every California attorney has the responsibility to uphold the rules of the profession at all times,” Laguna said in a statement emailed to the Southern California Record. “Those engaged in public service and charged with protecting the public must uphold the highest standards – to do otherwise damages the public’s trust. We are satisfied with the findings of culpability. As to the discipline recommendation, the SDTC will review the court’s decision and its analysis to determine whether to seek review.”
Dunn said he could not speak on the record about the case and directed the Record to his attorneys, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The State Bar’s notice of disciplinary charges against Dunn relates to discussions with the Board of Trustees in the fall of 2013, when the executive director told board members that Mongolian officials were in the process of implementing judicial system reforms and were “seeking technical assistance to develop the regulatory system (for attorneys) from the State Bar of California,” according to minutes of the meeting.
Dunn said no state funds or State Bar funds would be used in efforts to provide advice to the Mongolian officials, according to Roland’s ruling. But evidence was later presented showing State Bar funds were used to pay for expenses incurred during the January 2014 trip, the opinion states.
Roland’s opinion indicates that one board member was concerned about whether earmarking funds for such international assistance would be within the scope of the State Bar’s statutory mission.
Roland’s recommendations listed a number of conditions for the probationary period, including a requirement that Dunn complete a course on professional conduct rules, cooperate with the Office of Probation, submit quarterly and final reports and pass a State Bar Ethics School test. Dunn is also required to take and pass what’s called the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination.
Dunn served as a California state senator from 1998 to 2006, during which he chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2005 and 2006, according to the State Bar. He also founded a law firm in Santa Ana and worked as a plaintiff’s lawyer in Orange County, handling products liability litigation cases.