On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Fifth District, Section II Committee of the Virginia State Bar imposed a public reprimand on Maryland attorney Duncan Kenner Brent for lack of diligence and failure to communicate with the client.
The case is styled ‘In the Matter of Duncan Kenner Brent’, with case no. 22-052-124277.
The charges cited Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 1.4 (a)(b) which state:
A lawyer shall act with reasonable dilıgence and promptness in representing a client
A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.
A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.
The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found on the Virginia State Bar’s website.
The disciplinary matter involves Brent’s misconduct in his representation of Mr. El-Akwah in a damages claim. It was alleged that Brent failed to diligently pursue the interests of Al-Ekwah and that he failed to inform him about the status of the claim.
The filing states:
“After Respondent filed the lawsuit, he allowed this matter to “drop[] off his calendar.” Respondent said that he spoke with El-Akwah two or three times on the telephone to state that he needed documentation to support the damages claim.
. . . Although Respondent arranged for a private process server to serve the warrant in debt, the defendant was never served. On the return date, Respondent told the court that he was going to nonsuit the case.”
The filing further alleges:
“Respondent never filed the motion for nonsuit and he never informed his client of his intent to nonsuit. . .
Because the statute of limitations had already expired and the case had not been nonsuited, the matter could not be re-filed.”
The parties stipulated an agreed disposition for a public reprimand which was orally amended to include remedial terms.
Accordingly, the Committee, having determined that Brent’s above-cited conduct constituted a violation of the aforementioned Rules of Professional Conduct, accepted the parties’ stipulation and publicly reprimanded Brent.
Brent was also suspended on an interim basis, by Order of the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board for failure to comply with a bar-issued subpoena. The suspension is effective until his full compliance with the said subpoena.
Mr. Duncan Kenner Brent practiced in Silverspring, Maryland. He earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland, graduating in 1993. According to Martindale, he has been admitted to law practice in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
