People v. Robert J. Corry Jr. 21PDJ010 (consolidated with 21PDJ022). November 12, 2021. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and disbarred Robert J. Corry Jr. (attorney registration number 32705). The disbarment took effect on November 12, 2021.
In 2016, a client paid Corry $3,500.00 to challenge a Colorado Springs municipal ordinance that limited personal marijuana medical grows. Corry did not deposit the client’s money into a trust account. In 2018, Corry promised his client that he would send her a draft of the complaint, but he never did. Throughout 2019, Corry’s client pushed him to file the lawsuit and requested status updates about her matter, but he did not respond. In 2020, Corry failed to provide an accounting of his client’s fees at her request. Corry never filed the lawsuit, he did not return his client’s unearned funds, and he did not maintain proper account records of his client’s money.
Another client retained Corry’s firm in 2018 to represent her in anticipation of drug-related criminal charges. The client paid Corry $12,000.00 as a retainer; Corry did not place the funds in trust. The client terminated the representation before Corry had earned any of the retainer, but Corry did not refund her money upon termination. In spring and summer 2020, the client’s new lawyer sent Corry multiple requests for a refund; Corry responded only once and never returned the unearned fee. Corry also did not keep records of the client’s money.
Through this conduct, Corry violated Colo. RPC 1.3 (a lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness when representing a client); Colo. RPC 1.4(a)(3) (a lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of the matter); Colo. RPC 1.4(a)(4) (a lawyer shall promptly comply with reasonable requests for information); Colo. RPC 1.15A(a) (a lawyer shall hold client property separate from the lawyer’s own property); Colo. RPC 1.15(D)(a) (a lawyer shall maintain an appropriate recordkeeping system to track funds or other property held for others); Colo. RPC 1.16(d) (a lawyer shall protect a client’s interests upon termination of the representation, including by giving reasonable notice to the client and returning any papers and property to which the client is entitled); and Colo. RPC 8.4(c) (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation).
The case file is public per C.R.C.P. 251.31.