Joplin attorney Elizabeth Turner suspended from practicing law for three years

The Missouri Supreme Court today issued an order suspending the law license of Joplin attorney Elizabeth Turner for three years.

The order was issued following an April 13 hearing in which Deputy Chief Disciplinary Counsel Sam S. Phillips of the chief disciplinary office in Jefferson City detailed allegations of "misappropriation of client funds, the taking of unearned client funds, failing to refund money promptly to a client following termination of the representation, failing to render a full accounting to a client, taking unreasonable fees, failing to hold clients’ property separately from her own, and failing to maintain sufficient records of deposits and withdrawals from her trust account."

A disciplinary panel, determining Turner had not intentionally meant to defraud or deceive her clients recommended that Turner's suspension be stayed and that she be placed on probation but that decision was rejected by the chief disciplinary counsel who asked the Supreme Court to either disbar or suspend Turner.

In the written briefs, the chief disciplinary counsel's office provided a summary of the allegations against Turner:

Elizabeth Turner, Respondent, converted $12,000 from Heather B.’s settlement funds. She refused to refund it for eight months after being confronted by her client and the OCDC, despite making no claim to it. 

She reports surprise at learning that $8,000 was missing from her client’s account, although she was repeatedly asked - for five months - to refund and explain a “missing $8,000.” 

She submitted false accountings to her clients and disciplinary authorities, after asking for more time to study her records. More than twice a week for at least eighteen months, Respondent transferred large chunks of her clients’ funds to herself, without tying the transfers to any purpose or client. 

Using that system, and failing to reconcile her accounts, she benefitted financially while her clients were financially injured. Logically, her own calculations indicate her profit from her admittedly poor recordkeeping exceeded $97,000, in that says she had no claim to those funds.