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Rockford, Iowa lawyer’s license to practice law suspended for 60 days

gavel-justiceDES MOINES – The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board charged Rockford, Iowa attorney Laurie Jean Pederson with violating various rules of professional conduct.

Pedersen was admitted to practice law in Iowa in 2001 and has worked as a sole practitioner in Rockford, Iowa, throughout her career. According to her social media page, Pederson is a “Drag Racing Lawyer Rockford, Iowa. Can Do ANYTHING!”

Pederson has been publicly reprimanded in the past (2010), according to court documents.

The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board charged Pederson with violating various rules of professional conduct, including the rules governing communications with a represented party, taking a probate fee, business transactions with a client, trust account requirements and advance fees, and limited representation of a client. The Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa found Pederson violated several rules and recommended a three-month suspension. Upon its review, the board found Pederson violated the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct and impose a sixty-day suspension.

The disciplinary proceedings against Pederson involve her conduct as an attorney in an estate proceeding and her representation of a client in a child custody case. The facts were presented to the commission pursuant to a stipulation.

In the estate proceeding, Pederson served as the attorney for the estate. The executor was a beneficiary, together with her two siblings. A Mason City attorney represented the two other beneficiaries. Pederson was aware they were represented parties in the proceeding.

During the probate of the estate, Pederson sought and received the second half of her requested attorney fees prior to filing the final report. She also communicated directly with the two beneficiaries represented by counsel. She wrote a letter to them requesting waiver of the hearing on the final report. Pederson had calculated her attorney fees, as well as the executor fees, to be each nearly $29,000. Like Pederson, the executor received the second half of her fee prior to the filing of the final report. The district court removed Pederson as the attorney for the executor after it discovered the attorney fees had been miscalculated and the second half of the fees were prematurely received. The district court also removed the executor. The court then ordered Pederson and the executor to return all fees. Pederson, however, did not have sufficient funds at the time to return her attorney fees. She sought and received a loan from the former executor, who then returned all fees previously paid to the executor and Pederson, totaling nearly $58,000, to the estate. Pederson and the executor did not execute a written loan agreement, and Pederson did not advise the executor to seek independent counsel.

Furthermore, Pederson did not obtain informed consent from the executor. The district court eventually ordered Pederson to reimburse the executor, which she has not done.

In the child custody proceeding, Pederson agreed to represent the mother of the child who was the subject of the proceedings. Pederson charged and received a flat fee of $1200 in advance of her services. She deposited the fee into her personal account and never provided her client with an itemization of services. After receiving the fee, Pederson filed a petition for temporary and permanent custody on behalf of her client and eventually secured a temporary custody order. The case then sat dormant for close to a year, and Pederson had no contact with her client. The client believed the entire case had been completed. Pederson maintained she only represented the client for the limited purpose of securing an order for temporary custody. Notwithstanding, Pederson did not file and serve a notice of a limited appearance in the case and never informed the court her appearance was limited. The client subsequently obtained new counsel, and Pederson failed to respond to the new counsel’s request for documents and an accounting of services.

For her conduct in the estate proceeding, the Board charged Pederson with violating Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct 32:4.2(a) (communicating with a represented party), 32:1.5(a) (collecting a fee in violation of restrictions imposed by law), and 32:1.8(a) (improperly entering into a business transaction with a client). For her conduct in the child custody proceeding, the Board charged Pederson with violating rules 32:1.15(a) (failing to hold fees in a trust account separate from the lawyer’s account), 32:1.15(c) (withdrawing fees from the trust account before earned), 32:1.15(f) (violating court rules governing trust accounts), 32:1.5(b) (failing to communicate the scope of representation with a client), 32:1.2(c) (failing to obtain informed consent to limit the scope of representation), 32:1.4(a) (failing to maintain communication with a client), and 32:1.4(b) (failing to communicate with a client to allow informed decisions about new representation). The commission found Pederson violated the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct. It recommended the court suspend Pederson’s license to practice law for three months; a 60 day suspension was handed down. The costs of this proceeding are assessed against Pederson.

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