KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION V. JENNIFER SUE WHITLOCK
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TO BE PUBLISHED
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2010-SC-000538-KB
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KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
V.
/11-9239&d
MOVANT
IN SUPREME COURT
JENNIFER SUE WHITLOCK
RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
Respondent, Jennifer Sue Whitlock, stands accused of violating several
provisions of the Rules of Professional Responsibility pertaining to her
representation of Gale Ellis beginning in 2002 . The Board of Governors of the
Kentucky Bar Association has recommended that Respondent, whose Bar
Roster Address is 1401 Winchester Avenue, Suite 526, Ashland, Kentucky
41105, and whose KBA Member Number is 87562, be found to have committed
the ethical violations, suspended from the practice of law in this
Commonwealth for one year, and ordered to refund $1,650 in fees to Ms . Ellis
and consult with and agree to any monitoring by the Kentucky Lawyer
Assistance Program (KYLAP) . This Court, finding no reason for further review,
adopts the recommendation of the Board.
In August of 2002, Ms. Ellis hired Respondent to represent her in a
visitation dispute involving Ms . Ellis's grandchild . Ms. Ellis paid Respondent
$1,400 for her representation. However, Respondent neglected to do any work
in furtherance of her representation, nor did she return any phone calls from
the client. Nonetheless, in 2007, Ms. Ellis paid Respondent an additional $250
to represent her in a medical malpractice matter. Respondent similarly failed
to perform any work in relation to this matter. To date, Respondent has not
returned any of Ms . Ellis's money.
On September 13, 2009, Respondent was personally served a bar
complaint filed by Ms. Ellis, charging her with three counts of professional
misconduct in her representation of Ms. Ellis. A letter accompanying the
complaint informed Respondent of her duty to respond to the complaint and
that failure to do so could result in an additional charge of misconduct . After
an initial lack of response, Respondent received a certified reminder letter
attached with another copy of the complaint, but again failed to respond .
Respondent has now been charged with four counts of misconduct
stemming from her representation of Ms. Ellis : (1) failure to act with reasonable
diligence and promptness in representing a client, in violation of SCR 3 .1301 .3 ; (2) failure to respond to her client's inquiries regarding the status of her
cases, in violation of SCR 3.130-1 .4; (3) failure to inform her client of the
termination of representation, failure to return documents, and failure to
return the unearned portion of fees paid to her by her client, in violation of
SCR 3 .130-1 .16(d) ; and (4) failure to file a response to a bar complaint after
being effectively served, in violation of SCR 3 .130-5 .1(b) .
The Board of Governors voted unanimously to find Respondent guilty on
all four counts. Before voting on a recommended sanction, the Board reviewed
Respondent's disciplinary history, which included the following: a 30-day
suspension in 2008, Kentucky Bar Assn v. Whitlock, 275 S.W .3d 179 (Ky.
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2008) ; a 181-day suspension in 2009, Kentucky Bar Assn v. Whitlock, 290
S.W .3d 53 (Ky. 2009) ; and a one-year suspension on May 20, 2010, Kentucky
Bar Ass'n v. Whitlock, 311 S .W .3d 246 (Ky . 2010) 1 . After hearing of this
history, the Board voted unanimously to recommend that Respondent be
suspended for one year, ordered to refund $1,650 in fees to Ms. Ellis and
consult with and agree to any monitoring by KYLAP, and required to pay costs.
No review of the Board's recommendation, as allowed under SCR
3 .370(8), was sought. Because the Board's findings and conclusions are
supported by the record and the law, and because the recommended sanction
is appropriate in light of Respondent's history of prior discipline and the
seriousness of the charges, this Court elects not to review the recommendation
of the Board as allowed under SCR 3 .370(9) . The recommendation of the
Board is therefore adopted pursuant to SCR 3 .370(10) .
ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
(1)
Respondent, Jennifer Sue Whitlock, is suspended from the practice
of law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for one year from the date of this
Order.
(2)
Pursuant to SCR 3 .390, Respondent shall, within ten days from
the entry of this Opinion and Order, notify all of her clients in writing of her
inability to continue to represent them and of the necessity and urgency of
promptly retaining new counsel, and notify all courts in which she has matters
pending of her suspension from the practice of law, and simultaneously furnish
1 Though the Board of Governors could not have. considered it at the time, this Court
recently suspended Whitlock from the practice of law for one year. See Kentucky Bar
Ass'n v. Whitlock, No . 2010-SC-000238-KB, 318 S .W .3d 602 (Ky. 2010) .
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copies of all such letters of notice to the Director of the Kentucky Bar
Association. Furthermore, to the extent possible, Respondent shall
immediately cancel and cease any advertising activities in' which she is
engaged.
(3)
Respondent shall consult with and agree to any monitoring by the
Kentucky Lawyer Assistance Program .
(4)
Respondent is directed to pay restitution of all unearned fees to
Ms. Ellis, said sum being $1,650.
(5)
In accordance with SCR 3.450, Respondent is directed to pay all
costs associated with these disciplinary proceedings against her, said sum
being $308.54, for which execution may issue from this Court upon finality of
this Opinion and Order.
All sitting. All concur.
ENTERED: November 18, 2010.
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