On Friday, August 19, 2022, the Supreme Court of Iowa suspended Marshalltown attorney Kevin R. Hitchins for 30 days for his representation of a client in two quiet title actions.

The case, titled In the Matter of Kevin R. Hitchins, was brought by Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board, under case number  #22-1289.

The charges cited Hitchin’s violation of Rule 32:3.1 of the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct, which states:

A lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding, or assert or controvert an issue therein unless there is a basis in law and fact for doing so that is not frivolous, which includes a good faith argument for an extension, modification, or reversal of existing law.

On July 26, 2022, Hitchins executed an affidavit consenting to a sixty-day suspension of his license to practice law in the state of Iowa to which the Board filed on August 4, 2022, a Complainant’s Response to Respondent’s Consent to Suspension.

The Response provides:

“…Hitchins violated rule 32:3.1 by filing quiet title actions on behalf of a client with no valid legal interest in the subject property….

Based on the foregoing, the Board respectfully recommends the Court accept Hitchin’s affidavit consenting to suspension. Although Hitchins has consented to a suspension of up to sixty days, the Board recommends a suspension of thirty days.”

Accordingly, in its Order of Suspending License, the Supreme Court of Iowa states:

“…that Kevin R. Hitchins’s license to practice law in this state is suspended from the date of the filing of this order for a period of 30 days.

The court requests and further orders that this order of suspension, Hitchins’s affidavit consenting to suspension, and the Board’s response to the affidavit be included on the Iowa Supreme Court Office of Professional Regulation “Recent Attorney Disability and Disciplinary Orders” page of the Iowa Judicial Branch website.”

As of today, Mr. Hitchins is a licensed Marshalltown, Iowa practicing attorney. He attended the University of Iowa College of Law. 

A copy of the original filing can be found here.