Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, 0916 COBJ, Vol. 45, No. 9 Pg. 101

45 Colo.Law 101

Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge

Vol. 45, No. 9 [Page 101]

The Colorado Lawyer

September, 2016

Disciplinary Case Summaries

The summaries of disciplinary case Opinions and Conditional Admissions of Misconduct are prepared by the Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge (PDJ) and are provided as a service by the CBA. The CBA cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the summaries. Opinions, including exhibits, complaints, amended complaints, and summaries, are available at the PDJ website, www.coloradosupremecourt.com/PDJ/PDJ_Decisions.asp, and on LexisNexis.® The summaries and full-text Opinions are also accessible from the CBA website: www.cobar.org (click on “For Members,” and then “Opinions/Rules/Statutes”).

No. 16PDJ055. People v. Bouzari. 7/13/2016.

The PDJ approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and suspended Eloise Henderson Bouzari, attorney registration number 26776, for six months, all stayed pending the successful completion of a three-year period of probation, with conditions. Bouzari’s probation took effect on July 13, 2016.

In June 2012, Bouzari agreed to represent a client in a civil case against the University of Denver (DU) under an hourly fee arrangement. Gradually, Bouzari and the client developed a close personal relationship, and Bouzari offered to allow the client, who did not have sufficient financial resources to live on his own, to move into her own house. She allowed the client to use her credit card to get groceries for the house and put gas in his car. Bouzari often told the client that she loved him, and Bouzari talked with the client about adopting him. Bouzari and the client also traveled together to see Bouzari’s daughter. Both Bouzari and the client deny any sexual, romantic, or intimate relationship.

In January 2013, the client’s case was converted into a contingency fee arrangement, but Bouzari did not provide the client with a written contingent fee agreement. In February 2013, Bouzari filed suit against DU on the client’s behalf. In April 2013, Bouzari also filed on the client’s behalf a suit against another attorney for legal malpractice. Bouzari asked other lawyers to work on these cases with her as co-counsel; those lawyers entered appearances in both cases in July 2013.

By January 2014, Bouzari’s relationship with the client began to sour, with the client telling Bouzari several...

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