On Thursday, March 21, 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia suspended the law license of attorney Jeffrey A. Davis for three years.
The case is entitled “Lawyer Disciplinary Board v. Jeffery A. Davis,” with case no. 22-916.
The court issued its ruling in the lawyer disciplinary case brought by the Lawyer Disciplinary Board against Davis, who has practiced law in West Virginia since 1993. The charges stemmed from two formal complaints filed against Davis by the Investigative Panel of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board.
The first complaint involved Davis’ court-appointed representation of a criminal defendant, Samantha Shafer, on felony charges in 2021. Shafer filed a pro se motion with the circuit court in October 2021 alleging Davis made sexual overtures toward her while acting as her attorney. She claimed Davis asked if she wanted to go to the beach with him. The circuit court replaced Davis as Shafer’s counsel the following day.
At a disciplinary hearing in May 2023, Shafer testified Davis picked her up in his vehicle under the guise of discussing her case but instead drove to an abandoned school parking lot, where he complimented her appearance and offered to take her on an all-expenses paid trip to the beach. She said Davis did not discuss her serious felony charges during their interaction. Davis denied the allegations.
The Hearing Panel Subcommittee found Davis violated rules requiring attorneys to reasonably communicate with clients and prohibiting conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. It determined Davis failed to respond to Shafer’s phone calls during the six weeks she spent incarcerated while he was still her attorney.
The second complaint was filed by a client, Cletis Rogers, who claimed Davis took $500 to file an injunction on his behalf in 2021 but never did so. Davis stipulated he neglected Rogers’ case and failed to promptly return unearned fees, in violation of other rules.
Considering aggravating factors like Davis’ lengthy disciplinary history and experience practicing law, the HPS recommended a three-year suspension retroactive to a prior six-month suspension ordered in March 2022. It also said Davis’ ability to practice should be supervised for two years upon reinstatement.
The court concurred with the HPS’s findings and recommended sanctions. It noted Davis’ “ongoing pattern of misconduct…including 33 complaints, 8 disciplinary sanctions, 6 admonishments, and 2 suspensions over a 15-year period” necessitated a longer suspension.
The Supreme Court adopted the HPS report, suspended Davis’ law license for three years retroactive to March 2022, denied reinstatement until he underwent a psychological evaluation, and ordered him to pay costs. With this ruling, the court aims to appropriately punish Davis and protect the public through an effective deterrent to other attorneys.
The Disposition states:
“For all the foregoing reasons, we order the following sanctions: A. Respondent’s law license be suspended for a period of three years served retroactively based upon the Supreme Court’s Mandate of March 14, 2022, which suspended Respondent’s license to practice law for six months.”
According to avvo.com, Mr. Davis is an attorney in Wallback, West Virginia. He acquired his law license in West Virginia in 1993.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
