On Friday, May 10, 2024, Jeffrey Steven Vail was disbarred by the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Colorado Supreme Court. The disbarment takes effect on June 14, 2024.
The case is entitled “People v. Jeffrey Steven Vail,” with case no. 23PDJ069
According to the filing, Vail represented a client named Martin Gallan starting in 2018 when Gallan hired the law firm Godfrey Johnson P.C. to sue regarding his purchase of an aircraft that he claimed was not airworthy. Godfrey Johnson filed the lawsuit in October 2019. Vail later left Godfrey Johnson in August 2020 and took Gallan with him to his new solo practice called Vail Law, LLC.
However, after switching firms, Vail failed to act with diligence on Gallan’s case and failed to properly communicate with his client. Between September 2020 and January 2021, Gallan emailed Vail multiple times requesting case status updates but received no responses. Important deadlines like submitting a joint status report in November 2020 were missed.
In January 2021, Vail emailed Gallan stating he could no longer practice law or be licensed due to medical reasons. He also notified Gallan that Vail Law was permanently closed. While Vail informed Gallan he was terminating the representation, he failed to properly withdraw from the case by not filing the necessary paperwork with the court. He also did not notify the opposing counsel or parties that he was withdrawing.
Motions began to be filed in the case without Vail taking any action on Gallan’s behalf. The defendants filed for summary judgment in April 2021, but Vail did not respond. Gallan had to obtain extensions from the court to try and find a new lawyer. Despite his efforts, no replacement counsel could be found.
The court grew increasingly concerned with Vail’s lack of participation and issued orders directing him to withdraw and show cause for his failures. However, Vail disregarded these orders. Meanwhile, Vail’s law license was administratively suspended in July 2021 for not paying his registration fees.
Gallan ultimately had no choice but to drop the lawsuit due to the lack of representation. In July 2021, the parties filed a joint motion to dismiss the case with prejudice. This ended Gallan’s claims regarding the allegedly unairworthy aircraft, denying him the chance to recover what he said was over $1 million.
The Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel filed a complaint against Vail resulting in the sanctions hearing. As Vail failed to participate or respond throughout the disciplinary process, he was found in default.
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge determined Vail violated multiple Rules of Professional Conduct in his handling of Gallan’s case and his failure to cooperate. This included lack of diligence, improper termination of representation, disregarding court orders, and not responding to disciplinary authorities.
Taking into account Vail’s misconduct and applicable aggravating and mitigating factors, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge issued an opinion disbarring Vail. His abandonment of Gallan and failure to cooperate in the disciplinary case warranted this severest of sanctions according to prior case law. Vail is now prohibited from practicing law in Colorado going forward.
According to avvo.com, Mr. Vail was a litigation attorney in Greenwood Village, Colorado. He attended the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He acquired his law license in Colorado in 2008.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
