On Thursday, March 9, 2023, the Fifth District, Section III Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar publicly reprimanded Leesburg attorney James Patrick Hodges pursuant to an agreed disposition arising out of the disciplinary matter alleging Hodges of misconduct.
The case is titled “In the Matter of James Patrick Hodges”, and was brought by the Virginia State Bar, case #22-053-125672.
The charges cited Rules of Professional Conduct, rules 1.4(a), 1.15(b)(3), 1.16(c) and (d), which state:
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 maintain complete records of all funds, securities, and other properties of a client coming into the possession of the lawyer and render appropriate accountings to the client regarding them.
In any court proceeding, the counsel of record shall not withdraw except by leave of court after compliance with notice requirements pursuant to applicable Rules of Court. In any other matter, a lawyer shall continue representation notwithstanding good cause for terminating the representation, when ordered to do so by a tribunal.
Upon termination of representation, a lawyer shall take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, refunding any advance payment of fee that has not been earned and handling records as indicated in paragraph(e).
According to the court filing, Hodges, in his representation of his client Justin Park, in 2019 for a lease dispute, engaged in misconduct by failing to inform Park of the plaintiff’s motion for nonsuit of the other defendants and entry of the nonsuit order, and by entering an appearance but failing to tell Park until December 2021 that he could not represent him in the litigation. Hodges also engaged in misconduct by accepting an advanced legal fee from Park but failing to keep any time records reflecting how he earned it. Moreover, he allegedly violated the rules of professional conduct governing termination of representation by constructively withdrawing from Park’s representation in December 2021, failing to ensure that Park’s interests were appropriately protected when he constructively withdrew and then failing to file a motion to withdraw until July 2022.
Thereafter, the state bar of Virginia, through Elizabeth K. Shoenfeld, Senior Assistant Bar Counsel, and Hodges, submitted an Agreed Disposition for a Public Reprimand with Terms. According to the agreed disposition, such discipline is appropriate for the matter if this case were to be heard through an evidentiary hearing by the Fifth District, Section III Subcommittee.
During a hearing, the Fifth District, Section III Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar voted to approve the agreed disposition.
The disposition reads:
“Accordingly, having approved the agreed disposition, it is the decision of the Subcommittee to impose a Public Reprimand with Terms. The terms are:
Respondent will complete six hours of continuing legal education credits by attending courses approved by the Virginia State Bar in the subject matter of legal ethics. Respondent’s Continuing Legal Education attendance obligation set forth in this paragraph will not be applied toward his Mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirement in Virginia or any other jurisdictions in which Respondent may be licensed to practice law. Respondent must certify his compliance with the terms set forth in this paragraph by delivering a fully and properly executed Virginia MCLE Board Certification of Attendance form (Form 2) to bar counsel promptly following his attendance of each such CLE program(s).”
A hearing will be held by the District Committee if the terms are not met, and Hodges will be asked to give justification why a Certification for Sanction Determination should not be imposed.
Mr. Hodges has been licensed in Virginia.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
