People v. Sean Stephen Williams. 14PDJ082. February 17, 2015. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and disbarred Sean Stephen Williams (Attorney Registration Number 42619), effective February 17, 2015.
After starting his own law firm in January 2013, Williams intentionally failed to keep track of unearned client funds. He repeatedly transferred unearned client funds from his trust account into his operating account. He later began to deposit unearned client checks and money orders directly into his operating account. Williams used a debit card associated with his operating account to make ATM withdrawals and to pay personal and business expenses with unearned client funds.
In July 2013, Williams convinced a friend to join his firm as a partner. Yet Williams never allowed the partner access to records from either the trust or operating accounts, and Williams handled all the billing for the firm. The partner discovered the misconduct in February 2014.
Williams’s conduct amounted to theft under state law. He also violated Colo. RPC 1.15(a) (a lawyer shall hold client property separate from the lawyer’s own property); Colo. RPC 8.4(b) (a lawyer shall not commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects); and Colo. RPC 8.4(c) (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation).