People v. Robert Phillip Odle. 19PDJ062. August 19, 2019. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and suspended Robert Phillip Odle (attorney registration number 18091) for six months, all stayed upon the successful completion of a three-year period of probation. The conditions of probation include financial monitoring and attending trust account school. The probation takes effect September 1, 2019.
In early 2017, Odle agreed to assist pro bono an active duty member of the military in his dispute with an apartment management company, which claimed over $4,000.00 in fees and damages to the apartment. Odle asked the client to send him certain documents so that he could draft a demand letter. The client sent the requested information and believed that Odle was handling the matter; Odle states that he never received the information. More than a year then passed without communication. In March 2018, the client received a letter from a collections agency. The client contacted Odle, who did not remember the matter but pledged to look into it. Another five months then went by, but Odle never again communicated with the client.
In a separate probate matter, Odle was retained by an executor on an hourly basis to assist with the administration of an estate. The executor gave Odle a retainer. During the representation, Odle often was difficult to reach and failed to return the executor’s calls. Odle also invoiced the executor only sporadically and at various points failed to maintain a sufficient trust account balance to cover the money he should have been holding for the executor. Odle thereby negligently converted the executor’s funds, though he likely earned the funds by the end of the representation.
Through his conduct in these matters, Odle violated Colo. RPC 1.3 (a lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness when representing a client); Colo. RPC 1.4(a)(4) (a lawyer shall promptly comply with reasonable requests for information); Colo. RPC 1.4(b) (a lawyer shall explain a matter so as to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation); and Colo. RPC 1.15A(a) (a lawyer shall hold client property separate from the lawyer’s own property).
The case file is public per C.R.C.P. 251.31.