On Wednesday, December 18, 2024, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Colorado approved a stipulation to discipline attorney Laurel Meyers Byrnes, resulting in a suspension of one year and one day. However, this suspension will be stayed upon Byrnes successfully completing a two-year probation period, which includes specific conditions. The probation is set to begin on the same day as the ruling.
The case is entitled “People v.Laurel Meyers Byrnes,” with case no. 24PDJ040.
The disciplinary action stems from an incident that occurred in March 2023 during a pretrial conference concerning a domestic relations case involving Byrnes’s client. During the conference, Byrnes made statements to the presiding judge that the opposing party was obstructing the client’s visitation rights with their child and interfering with a court-ordered investigation. Notably, the opposing party was not present at the conference and had legal representation that was not familiar with the case details, leading to no immediate challenge to Byrnes’s claims.
However, these assertions were later found to be inaccurate. In reality, the home visit in question was scheduled to occur on the same day as the conference, and the client had communicated to Byrnes that the child was not comfortable staying with him outside of this visit. Following the scheduled home visit, the opposing counsel informed Byrnes that it had been completed, and subsequently filed a request for a status conference, alleging that Byrnes had provided misleading or incorrect information during the pretrial conference.
In her response to this request, Byrnes did not amend her earlier statements and instead suggested that the court clerks had misinterpreted her comments. The judge expressed concern over Byrnes’s failure to correct the record, despite having opportunities to do so. Consequently, the court rescinded its order to delay the permanent orders hearing, allowing the case to proceed according to its original schedule.
Byrnes’s conduct was deemed a violation of Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct, specifically RPC 8.4(c), which prohibits lawyers from engaging in dishonesty or misrepresentation, and RPC 8.4(d), which forbids actions prejudicial to the administration of justice.
According to avvo.com, Ms. Byrnes is a criminal defense attorney in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She acquired her law license in Colorado in 2005.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
