The Iowa Supreme Court has revoked the license of an eastern Iowa attorney for “an act of theft” and for his neglect of clients’ legal matters.
In 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board had charged attorney John Karl Fischer, of the Fischer Law Firm in Vinton, with more than a dozen ethics rule violations. The Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa conducted a hearing on the matter last April and subsequently recommended to the court that Fischer’s license be revoked.
Commission records indicate that after representing two individuals who had agreed to split the cost of a settlement and Fischer’s legal fees, one of the clients paid his half, but the other did not. Fischer then applied some of the paying clients’ money to the legal bill owed by the other client, allegedly because he was angry.
In its recommendation to the court, the commission reviewed the matter and concluded that Fischer had deliberately misappropriated a client’s money in two instances and that those acts “reflect adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness, and fitness to practice law.” The commission added that in both instances, Fischer’s actions “were dishonest, fraudulent (and) deceitful.”
The commission said it “appears obvious” why Fischer, after taking the money, did not maintain contact with the clients, stating that it was “because he did not want them aware of the mishandling of funds … In the commission’s opinion, this goes well beyond negligence.”
The Attorney Disciplinary Board also noted that in a separate legal matter, Fischer had been sanctioned by the district court for repeatedly failing to comply with discovery requests and court orders. The board quoted the district court judge in that case, who had written that he found Fischer’s failure to comply with three separate court orders “astonishing” and a willful act of bad faith. In that case, the judge granted the opposing counsel’s motion for a default judgment against Fischer’s client due to Fischer’s actions.
In deciding to revoke Fischer’s license on Friday, the Iowa Supreme Court stated, “We conclude the board has demonstrated by a convincing preponderance of the evidence that Fischer’s misappropriation was an intentional act of theft, not a technical violation, and revocation is the appropriate sanction.”
In 2008, Fischer had been given a public reprimand for failing to act diligently on behalf of a client and for not adequately communicating with a client.
In 2012, he had been given a private admonition for taking fees in an estate matter prior to the court having authorized those fees. It was also found that he had sent out bills for fees that were not authorized by the court.
Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.
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