People v. Molly Falk Jansen. 21PDJ045. July 2, 2021. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and suspended Molly Falk Jansen (attorney registration number 34528) for six months. The suspension takes effect September 1, 2021.
In March 2019, Jansen signed a written flat fee agreement with the parents of a client charged in two separate criminal cases. Under the agreement, Jansen would earn 25 percent of the fee at four progressive stages of the representation. Jansen required immediate payment to begin representation in the two cases. So, the day after entering the fee agreement, the client’s parents paid Jansen $30,000.00 in two transactions of $15,000.00. Jansen treated all of the money as earned before meeting any of the benchmarks of the fee agreement, however, though she did eventually meet them.
In a separate matter, the father of one of Jansen’s former clients posted a negative review of her services on her website. She responded to the posting with statements—including references to confidential communications with her client and information learned from the representation—that contained identifying details about her client.
Through this conduct, Jansen violated Colo. RPC 1.5(a) (a lawyer shall not charge an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses); Colo. RPC 1.5(f) (a lawyer does not earn fees until a benefit is conferred on the client or the lawyer performs a legal service); Colo. RPC 1.6(a) (a lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent); 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.