JEFFERSON CITY (St. Louis Record) — A St. Louis attorney is no longer on probation and a Springfield attorney has been placed on probation following separate recent Missouri Supreme Court orders.
St. Louis attorney Brandon LaMonte Williams, on probation for little more than a year after his paralegal allegedly failed to disburse settlement funds to clients, has been reinstated following a June 24 Missouri high court order.
In its order, the court terminated Williams' probation following his motion for order of successful completion of probation and after considering the chief disciplinary counsel's response to the order.
Williams had been on probation since May 2018 when he was placed on a fully stayed indefinite suspension following a state Supreme Court order.
Allegations against Williams stemmed from two client matters in which Williams settled cases, after which his paralegal, without authorization from Williams or the clients, allegedly deposited settlement funds into Williams' operating account, rather than paying them to Williams' clients.
Williams reportedly was unaware that his clients had not been paid the settlement proceeds and they were not paid for 18 months and 22 months respectively, according to the chief disciplinary counsel's brief at the time.
Following a hearing in August 2017, a disciplinary hearing panel recommended Williams receive a stayed suspension and he be placed on a one-year probation. Williams and the office of chief disciplinary counsel agreed to the discipline.
Williams was admitted to the bar in Missouri on Sept. 17, 2003, according to his profile on the Missouri Bar's website.
In a separate order, longtime Springfield attorney Roger C. Jones has been placed on two years' conditional probation following a June 18 state Supreme Court order. The court found Jones violated professional conduct rules regarding conflict of interest in prohibited transactions, trust accounts and property of others and misconduct.
Terms and conditions of Jones' probation were detailed in a disciplinary hearing panel decision filed with the court but not included in the court's order.
Jones also was ordered to pay $1,500 to the advisory committee fund taxed, in addition to all costs in the matter.
Jones was admitted to the bar in Missouri on Oct. 10, 1986, according to his profile on the Missouri Bar's website.