A Connecticut Law Tribune analysis of attorney discipline cases between January 2014 and August 2019 revealed that missed deadlines, lack of communication with clients, improper bookkeeping, financial mismanagement and crime are major stumbling blocks for lawyers.

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Attorneys were accused of 2,176 violations during the roughly five-year period. Although most grievance complaints didn't make it to the prosecution stage, those that did resulted in about 244 presentments, 105 reprimands, 31 continuing legal education orders, 16 disbarments and 190 dismissals.

Connecticut is home to about 21,030 attorneys, according to the American Bar Association's 2019 lawyer population survey.

The most troubling cases, according to Connecticut's chief disciplinary counsel Brian Staines, are those involving Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts, or IOLTA. Staines said random audits conducted on behalf of the Statewide Grievance Committee often showed lawyers weren't properly maintaining accounts or adequately protecting client's funds.

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What were the key findings?

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  • Attorneys were accused of 2,176 ethics violations.
  • Of 878 cases, 190 were dismissed.
  • Big Law attorneys and prosecutors rarely face discipline.
  • Mishandling or stealing client's money is usually a straight shot to suspension or disbarment.
  • Seven rules accounted for more than 1,800 violations.
  • The best way to reemerge on the right side of a charge is to stay calm, apologize and be honest, according to experts.

Source: The Connecticut Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel discipline cases between January 2014 and August 2019.

Safekeeping property was a particularly thorny area, as attorneys faced 317 violations for using client funds for personal expenses and other missteps.

Mishandling or stealing client's money proved a surefire way to land the most severe sanctions, consistently resulting in suspensions and disbarments, while communication issues and first-time trust account violations typically resulted in mandatory continuing legal education.

While prosecutors and Big Law attorneys barely received a mention, senior attorneys with solo practices or small firms were disproportionately vulnerable to complaints and discipline. And they tend to fall into one of three categories: bad actors who stole money or abused their position; attorneys who missed a statute of limitations on a case or had a particularly difficult client; or lawyers struggling with burnout, mental health issues or substance abuse problems.

Some violations could only be described as "miscellaneous." One lawyer got in trouble for bad-mouthing a former friend to organizations and public boards, while another manufactured a string of reasons to avoid dealing with a client, including a computer virus and a cat bite.

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