Tri-City lawyer in trouble with state over misconduct allegations

A longtime defense attorney recently quit his practice to avoid discipline, while a former Tri-City lawyer has a month left on a state-imposed suspension.

Gary C. Hugill and Scott Etherton were accused of misconduct involving clients, according to records with the Washington State Bar Association.

Etherton also allegedly made 19 cash withdrawals totaling more than $9,000 from a bank account that held client funds, and had no records to show if he was entitled to the money.

Hugill, of Richland, had been licensed with the state since October 1972. He opted to resign instead of fight the allegations.

Etherton’s 90-day suspension has been in place since Nov. 28.

He was admitted to the state bar in May 2000 and practiced in Benton and Franklin counties for many years, but has listed a Lacey address on state bar documents.

Hugill was first reprimanded by the state in 2012 for violating the Rules of Professional Conduct. He previously had been under contract with Benton County to represent indigent clients in Superior Court.

At the time, he represented a national credit association that took people to court to collect on debts. Hugill would file documents, prepared by the company’s in-house paralegal, without first reviewing them for errors.

State bar documents say Hugill’s violations included allowing the paralegal to determine when and what the legal action should be against debtors without doing his own investigation as the attorney.

Hugill agreed to the reprimand. It went into his permanent record and was to be considered along with any future grievances.

Months later, Hugill told a client he would get his arrest warrants quashed on four Benton County District Court cases and arrange a new payment plan.

Hugill did not schedule a hearing, but approached Judge Joe Burrowes on the bench with a motion he claimed was agreed to by city prosecutors. Burrowes instructed the attorney to schedule a hearing date with court staff, but Hugill instead wrote the judge’s name on the signature line and filed the document.

That misconduct came to light when employees with the Kennewick and Richland police departments contacted the court the verify the status of those warrants.

Hugill was served in 2014 with a formal complaint from the state bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, then suspended on an interim basis in September 2015.

However, Hugill continued to practice law, taking a case in early 2017 about a dispute over a tree. Hugill collected $1,000 from the client and sent a letter to the neighbor threatening legal action. His letterhead still stated, “Attorney at Law.”

The tree eventually was removed, but Hugill followed that up with another letter demanding the neighbor “take steps to repair damage” to the other property. Hugill’s second legal threat was sent to the neighbor directly, even though that person had since hired a Richland attorney and Hugill knew that.

In his resignation letter, Hugill said the decision to permanently end his membership in the state bar was voluntary after consulting with an attorney.

He agreed to pay back all legal fees given to him by clients he represented while suspended.

Hugill no longer can practice in any jurisdiction where he was licensed, including both state and federal courts, and is subject to all restrictions that apply to a disbarred lawyer.

Hugill’s resignation was effective Dec. 11, but some attorneys worry he still is trying to represent clients.

During a Jan. 16 hearing in Franklin County Superior Court, defense attorney Justin Andrews made a record that Hugill had contacted him, claiming to be a retired attorney who had been talking with Andrews’ client.

Andrews told the judge that Hugill further said he had been tasked with reviewing the criminal case and the client’s mental health history, and had tried to reach out to the deputy prosecutor.

Hugill had been in the courtroom earlier in the day, but was not around when the case was called. Andrews had wanted Hugill admonished for representing himself to lawyers, the client and family members as someone who can provide legal services, when he no longer is licensed in Washington.

Etherton agreed to his own suspension rather than taking it to a hearing before the state bar’s disciplinary board.

Documents show that Etherton mismanaged his trust account, which held client funds.

Over an 18-month period, the lawyer failed to keep a check register or bank statements and did not maintain an individual ledger for each client or copies of agreements with clients, bills for legal fees or records of how money was disbursed.

The state bar also noted that, in reconstructing the account’s records, it was difficult to determine if Etherton had a right to the nearly $9,000 he withdrew since it was in cash instead of to a named payee.

All of that violated the Rules of Professional Conduct, and Etherton “should have known that he was otherwise dealing improperly with client property,” documents said.

Etherton had been admonished previously for failing to attend mediation and court hearings on his cases or timely respond to evidence requests from opposing parties.

“Beginning in late 2012, (Etherton) was experiencing employment, financial and medical issues,” documents said.

In order to be reinstated from his suspension, he must pay the money that is owed to clients or third parties, complete a legal education course on managing accounts and “establish that he will be capable, going forward, of handling client funds.”

Etherton, if reinstated to practice. will be on probation for two years with strict oversight by the state bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

This story was originally published January 21, 2018 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Tri-City lawyer in trouble with state over misconduct allegations."