People v. William Albert Nebeker. 19PDJ023. April 2, 2019. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct in this reciprocal discipline matter and publicly censured William Albert Nebeker (attorney registration number 46057), effective April 2, 2019.
On June 28, 2018, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge for the Supreme Court of Arizona issued an order reprimanding Nebeker, accepting Nebeker’s stipulation that he violated Arizona RPC 5.3 (nonlawyer assistants); Arizona RPC 1.15(a) and (d) (safekeeping property); and Arizona Trust Account Rules 43(a), 43(b)(1)(A)-(C), and 43(b)(2)(A)-(D). The parties in the Arizona disciplinary case stipulated that an accountant at Nebeker’s law firm engaged in a sophisticated scheme to embezzle money from the firm’s trust account. Nebeker acknowledged that, as a partner in his law firm and as the sole attorney with signatory authority on the trust account, he negligently failed to maintain adequate trust account records, negligently failed to perform monthly three-way reconciliations, negligently failed to safeguard client property, and negligently failed to supervise his employee.
Through this conduct, Nebeker engaged in conduct constituting grounds for discipline under C.R.C.P. 251.21.