Holland lawyer disbarred after felony convictions.

Byline: Thomas Franz

A Holland attorney consented to disbarment by an Attorney Discipline Board panel after he was convicted of two felonies.

The disbarment of Jeffrey J. Palmer, P 64035 (MiLW No. 12-101214, 1 page) was effective Sept. 20. His law license has been suspended since Feb. 27, the date of his felony conviction.

The case was assigned to Ottawa County Hearing Panel No. 1, which included chairperson John R. Marquis and members Andrew J. Mulder and Timothy J. Cumings. Cynthia C. Bullington represented the Attorney Grievance Commission while Palmer represented himself.

The case

Palmer and the grievance administrator filed a stipulation for a consent order of discipline, which was approved by the Attorney Grievance Commission and accepted by the hearing panel.

The stipulation contained Palmer's admission that he was convicted of the felonies of false statement on income tax return and wire fraud in United States of America v. Jeffrey James Palmer in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, according to the Sept. 24 disbarment notice.

Based on Palmer's conviction and his admission in the stipulation, the hearing panel found that he engaged in conduct that violated a criminal law of a state or of the United States, an ordinance, or tribal law.

As part of the disbarment stipulation, Palmer was ordered by the hearing panel to pay $311,350.46 in restitution.

Discipline

The Stipulation for Consent Order of Disbarment With Condition states the parties applied theoretical framework as provided in the American Bar Association Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions: respondent violated duties owed to the profession; respondent's mental state was intentional in regard to the duties violated; and the conduct caused injury or potential injury to the profession, according to the hearing panel report.

Specifically, the parties applied Standard 5.11, which states that disbarment is generally appropriate when "a lawyer engages in serious criminal conduct, a necessary element of which includes intentional interference with the administration of justice...