On Thursday, November 10, 2022, the Supreme Court of Colorado suspended attorney Brenda L. Storey, for dishonesty. The case is entitled “People v. Brenda L Storey” with case no. 20PDJ063.
The charge cited Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct 1.7(a)(2), 1.15(a), 1.15a(c) and 8.4(c) which state:
A lawyer must not represent a client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest,
A lawyer must hold client or third-party property separate from the lawyer’s own property.
A lawyer must keep separating any property in which two or more persons claim an interest until there is a resolution of the claims.
It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.
Allegedly, during a marriage proceeding, the respondent represented a client. During the said proceeding, in order for the client to pay her, the respondent pressured the former to raise money by selling furniture and other marital properties. The respondent failed to advise her client of the risk of doing so. In exchange for the legal fee, Storey’s client offered to pay Storey’s bill with a tax refund check for $47,578.43. The check was jointly issued to the client and his husband, who was the opposing party in the marriage proceeding. The respondent then deposited the check into her trust account without counselling her client about the potential effect on the litigation and without investigating the reason the check had been issued. In the month that followed, the respondent transferred the check’s funds into her operating account to pay her earned fees. But Storey did not advise her client to disclose the check to the opposing party despite the check’s materiality to salient issues in the case, including settlement negotiations and disputes over legal fees.
The filing states:
“During these weeks in June, Storey sent Cynthia multiple communications regarding the legal bill. Storey repeatedly urged her client to liquidate marital property in order to pay this and future legal bills.
On June 18, she sent an email to Cynthia, instructing:
“If [ Caldwell ] does not pay my bill by the 20th, please start selling furniture and furnishings (that you do not want in the division [of property]). It is not a violation of the Automatic Temporary Injunction to pay your lawyer from marital funds/assets.
On June 20, Storey sent another email to Cynthia, instructing:
“Tomorrow, please list for sale on Facebook and/or Craigslist and/or anywhere else you would like to use any marital furniture you do not wish to keep. Please send us the listings.”
On June 21, Storey sent another email to Cynthia, stating:
“While I am sorry for your financial concerns, I do want to highlight that per our fee agreement, you must pay our bill in full each month. If you do not, we have the right to cease work. While I am breaking this rule for this month, I must tell you that I will not do it for any future months. As such, you may need to ask family and friends to assist you until I can get the Court’s assistance and/or Caldwell’s compliance.”
The filing continues:
“Following this July 25 order, Caldwell sent Cynthia $25,000, which Cynthia remitted to Storey. On July 29, Storey sent her client an email, stating:
‘You do not have a choice as to whether you pay me in full. To me, my bill is the highest priority over your sprinkler bill, school supplies, or otherwise. It should be for you as well, as I will cease representing you, per our fee agreement, if you do not get me paid in full. . . . The Judge has told you exactly what to do to be able to pay me. Please contact [the bank] ASAP and ask them what they need for you to take $75,000 from the home equity line ASAP. The Expert CPAs need $25,000, and you owe me $32,617.31 per the August 1 bill after crediting you the full $25,000 that has yet to go through. The balance will go into my trust account for your September 1 bill. I will need to get an agreement for this amount, but will wait to hear from you first as to what the bank says is needed for you to do this. Please let me know by 5:00 today what the bank has to say. I will no longer carry a balance with you and will hold you to the fee agreement terms.”
According to the Court, the respondent had prioritized the payment of her fees above the client’s interest which is in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Moreover, as a consequence of the IRS check, the client paid additional costs and reduced the sum allocated to her in the divorce which the respondent failed to advise so.
Considering all the damages and factual allegations of the case, the court decided to suspend the respondent.
The Disposition states:
“The Hearing Board, therefore, ORDERS: BRENDA L STOREY, attorney registration number 25828, is SUSPENDED for a period of ONE YEAR AND ONE DAY. The SUSPENSION SHALL take effect only upon issuance of an “Order and Notice of Suspension.”
Ms. Storey practices in Denver, Colorado. She is licensed in Colorado with license #25828. Her info can be found here.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
