BRET E. HANES v. Comm'n for Lawyer Discipline

On January 27, 2004, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals affirmed a judgment of partially probated suspension against Wichita Falls attorney Bret E. Hanes, 43, SBOT Card No. 08905900, signed by the evidentiary panel of the State Bar of Texas District 14A Grievance Committee on July 13, 2003, in Cause No. F0070010443. Because Hanes failed to respond to his client's request for an accounting of trust funds, withdrew funds from the trust for his own use without informing the client, withdrew funds without authorization and deposited those funds into his personal business account and then distributed the same funds to persons not entitled to receive them, the evidentiary panel found that he violated TDRPC Rules 1.03(a), 1.03(b), 1.08(a), 1.14(a), 1.14(c), 8.04(a)(1) and 8.04(a)(3).