Attorney James Hall Jr. of Des Moines, IA; lying repeat offender

The state of Iowa presented James Franklin Hall Jr. with a law license in 2002 after he graduated from Drake University of Iowa School of Law. 

The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board found Jimmy guilty of the following misconduct.

Jimmy’s 1^st bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree

• Sanctioned $25.00 by court for failing to file client’s case electronically
• Clerk gave Jimmy ten days to pay the $25.00 sanction
• Two months after he was ordered to the $25.00 sanction, the court issued a show cause order for Jimmy to explain why he had failed to comply with the court’s prior order
• Trial court found Jimmy in contempt of court because of his sham defense to not paying the $25.00 in the ten-day period he was ordered to so act

As a direct consequence of his misconduct, the Cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Iowa Supreme Court punished Greg by gifting him with a complimentary reprimand.

Jimmy’s 2^nd bite at the Attorney Misfit Apple Tree

• Signed client names to bankruptcy petitions w/o client authorization and then filed them with the court
• Neglected client cases on numerous occasions
• Neglected four separate cases after filing notices of appeal
• Neglect resulted in the dismissal of a client’s appeal
• Neglected a case involving a claim for wrongful discharge he undertook on behalf of a client
• After agreeing to handle a case, made little or no effort to advance the client’s claim
• Misrepresented [lied] about the status of the case to a client
• Engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice  
• Failed to promptly turn over the client file after the client obtained new counsel
• Neglected client’s case after agreeing to represent the client on an insurance claim involving the death of the client’s husband
• Failed to return numerous phone calls from a client
• Did little or no legal work on a client’s case
• Failed to turn over the client file after the client obtained new counsel
• Repeatedly mismanaged trust account
• Failed to comply with trust account requirements
• Failed to maintain a proper ledger of deposits and withdrawals
• Improperly permitted a paralegal in his office to deposit and withdraw funds
• Improperly used trust account to pay a variety of business and personal obligations
• Engaged in multiple violations of the rules of professional responsibility
• Failed to maintain complete records and render an accounting to client
• Made a false statement of law or fact
• Engaged in conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice law
• Failed to cooperate with ethics investigators (Up Yours, said Jimmy!)

As a direct consequence of his misconduct, the Cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Iowa Supreme Court punished Jimmy by gifting him with a complimentary 12-month suspension of his law license.

As we speak (ca. April 2019), Jimmy practices the Hall Law Office in Des Moines, Iowa.