JEFFERSON CITY (St. Louis Record) — St. Louis attorney Daniel Lee Sayle, on probation since 2014, is no longer on probation following a June Missouri Supreme Court order.
The high court handed down its order in response to Sayle's motion of his successful completion of probation and the office of chief disciplinary counsel's response to that motion, according the court's brief order. The court ordered that Sayle had successfully completed the probationary period order by the court in 2014 and terminated his probation.
The court also ordered Sayle to pay costs in the matter.
Sayle was admitted to the bar in Missouri on Sept. 15, 1984, according to his profile at The Missouri Bar's website. Sayles had no prior disciplinary history, according to Sayle's brief and that of the chief disciplinary counsel filed with the high court.
A chief disciplinary counsel's investigation began following an overdraft in December 2011 on Sayle's client trust account, according to the chief disciplinary counsel's brief. Sayle then was practicing in Maryland Heights. The investigation determined there was limited overall activity in the account during the first half of that year but later turned up irregularities.
Sayles was alleged to have violated professional conduct rules when he deposited personal funds into the trust account, paid personal expenses from the trust account on five occasions and failed to maintain complete records on the account for five years. The investigation also concluded that no clients were financially harmed as a result of Sayle's alleged misconduct and that Sayle did not owe reimbursement to any clients.
In his own brief, Sayle stipulated to the investigator's findings.
Sayle was placed on probation in September 2014, according to a Missouri Supreme Court order at the time, finding he had violated professional conduct rules regarding safekeeping property, misconduct and confidentiality of information and that he should be disciplined. The high court handed down a stayed indefinite suspension and a year of probation, effective from the date of the order.
The state high court said it would not entertain any petition for reinstatement for six months from the date the discipline became effective. The high court also ordered Sayle to play $1,500 to the credit of the advisory committee, in addition to costs in the matter.