VIRGINIA:
BEFORE THE
NINTH DISTRICT SUBCOMMITTEE
OF THE VIRGINIA
STATE BAR
IN THE MATTER OF
JAMES CLIFFORD REEVES, III
VSB Docket No. 03-090-0414
(Glenda Morgan)
SUBCOMMITTEE DETERMINATION
(Public Reprimand)
On April 8, 2003, a meeting in
this matter was held before a duly convened Sub-committee of the Ninth District
Committee consisting of Phillip Dandridge Payne, IV, Esquire, Ms. Langhorne S.
Mauck, (Lay Member), and Paul Joseph Feinman, Esquire, Chair presiding.
Pursuant to an Agreed Disposition
of the parties and Part 6, Section IV, 13G1c.(3) of the Virginia Supreme Court
Rules of Court, the Ninth District Subcommittee of the Virginia State Bar hereby
serves upon the Respondent, James Clifford Reeves, III, the following Public
Reprimand:
I. FINDINGS OF FACT
- At all times material to these
allegations, the Respondent, James Clifford Reeves, III, herein-after "Respondent",
has been an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- On or around June 27, 2001, Glenda
Morgan retained Respondent to defend her interests in an equitable distribution
action pending in Bedford County Circuit Court. This concerned, inter
alia, Morgan's interests in the couple's marital home. Morgan and her
former estranged spouse were concurrently litigating their divorce action
in a separate North Carolina action.
- On October 15, 2001, the North
Carolina court granted Morgan and her spouse a divorce, reserving property
issues for future resolution.
- From November, 2001 to the filing
of this complaint on August 13, 2002, Respondent failed to keep Morgan informed
to her satisfaction about the status of the on-going equitable distribution
matter in Bedford Circuit Court.
- From May, 2002 to August, 2002,
Respondent failed to maintain adequate communication with Morgan.
II. NATURE OF MISCONDUCT
The Subcommittee finds that such
conduct on the part of Respondent constitutes misconduct in violation of the following
rules of the Virginia Rule of Professional Conduct :
RULE 1.4 Communication
- A lawyer shall keep a client
reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with
reasonable requests for information.
III. PUBLIC REPRIMAND
Accordingly, it is the decision
of the Subcommittee to impose a Public Reprimand on Respondent, James Clifford
Reeves, III, and he is so reprimanded.
NINTH DISTRICT SUBCOMMITTEE
OF THE VIRGINIA STATE BAR
By:
Paul Joseph Feinman
Subcommittee Chair
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I certify that I have this ______day
of , 2003, mailed by CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED, a true and correct
copy of the executed Subcommittee Determination (Public Reprimand ) to James
C. Reeves, III, to 20334 Timberlake Road, Suite1, P.O. Box 1201, Lynchburg,
Virginia 24505, his last address of record with the Virginia State Bar.
Paul D. Georgiadis
Assistant Bar Counsel