On Monday, April 10, 2023, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled on the submitted “Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline” stipulated by and between the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission and Portage attorney Christopher Dewyne Stidham relating to charges for attorney discipline against the latter for misconduct.
The case is styled ‘In the Matter of Christopher D. Stidham’, Case # 22S-DI-416.
The charges cited Indiana Professional Conduct Rules 1.3 and 1.4, which prohibit:
Failing to act with reasonable diligence and promptness; and
Failing to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and failure to explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit a client to make informed decisions.
According to the court document, Stidham was placed on interim suspension on August 10, 2021, based on Stidham’s conviction of a crime punishable as a felony.
Despite numerous attempts by his client to contact him, Stidham failed to inform him of his suspension. He also failed to diligently and promptly represent the interests of the client, who was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
The filing states:
“Client appeared at a pre-trial conference on August 23, where the judge informed him of Respondent’s suspension. Client retained a different attorney and later entered into a pretrial diversion agreement with the State. Respondent apologized to Client afterwards and issued a full refund.”
The parties proposed a public reprimand as the appropriate discipline.
The Supreme Court of Indiana, after consideration of the submissions of the parties, approved the proposed discipline and imposed a public reprimand for Stidham’s misconduct.
Mr. Stidham maintains his practice in Portage, and he has been admitted to the Illinois Bar in 2016. His info can be found on Avvo.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
