TO BE PUBLISHED
Suprrtur (Could of 'IA ritfurkv
2014-SC-000708-KB
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION MOVANT
V. IN SUPREME COURT
JAMES NEAL TILSON RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
Respondent, James Neal Tilson, whose last known bar roster address is
341 S. Second Avenue, Yuma, Arizona 85364, and whose KBA Member
Number is 87209, was admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealth of
Kentucky in 1998. He is a member of the Arizona bar and has recently been
suspended from the practice of law there for numerous ethical violations. The
Kentucky Bar Association's Office of Bar Counsel has filed a petition for
reciprocal discipline under Supreme Court Rule 3.435, and has asked this
Court to require Tilson to show cause why identical reciprocal discipline
against him should not be imposed in Kentucky under Supreme Court Rule
3.435. This Court issued a show-cause order, but Tilson failed to file a
response.
On October 17, 2014, the Supreme Court of Arizona entered an order
accepting discipline by consent suspending Respondent from the practice of
law in Arizona for three years. See In re Tilson, No. PDJ-2014-9047 (Oct. 17,
2014) (Order Accepting Agreement for Discipline by Consent as Modified). 1 The
court's order lays out the factUal basis for eleven disciplinary charges,
consisting largely of accepting fees and failing to do work on the cases. The
court also noted that Tilson has "voluntarily waived the right to an adjudicatory
hearing on all the charges" and that he had agreed to "be suspended from the
practice of law for three years, pay restitution in an amount specified in the
Agreement as to six of the charges, as a term of probation, participate in fee
arbitration regarding four of the charges, pay costs of this matter and other
terms as set forth in the Agreement." Id. at 1-2. The presiding judge in the
matter ultimately proposed modifying the agreement as to certain matters,
such as to include mandatory language and to allow an incarcerated former
client meaningful access to fee arbitration, and the modifications were
accepted. The agreement was otherwise accepted.
Under Kentucky Supreme Court Rule 3.435(4), Tilson shall be subject to
identical discipline in the Commonwealth of Kentucky "unless [he] proves by
substantial evidence: (a) a lack of jurisdiction or fraud in the out-of-state
disciplinary proceeding, or (b) that the misconduct established warrants
substantially different discipline in this State." SCR 3.435(4)(a)-(b). The Arizona
order, as a "final adjudication in another jurisdiction that an attorney has been
guilty of misconduct[,] shall establish conclusively the misconduct for purposes
of a disciplinary proceeding in this State." SCR 3.435(4)(c).
I The decision and other documents in the case are available online at
http: / /www.azcourts.gov/ Portals/ 101 / 2014/TilsonZIP.pdf.
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Tilson has not shown cause why identical reciprocal discipline should
not be imposed. This Court sees no reason why Tilson should not be subjected
to identical discipline in this state.
It is hereby ORDERED that:
1. The Kentucky Bar Association's petition for reciprocal discipline
is GRANTED. Respondent, James Neal Tilson, is suspended
from the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for a
period of three years.
2. As required by SCR 3.390, Tilson will, within 10 days after the
issuance of this order of suspension from the practice of law for
more than 60 days, notify, by letter duly placed with the United
States Postal Service, all courts or other tribunals in which he
has matters pending, and all of his clients of his inability to
represent them and of the necessity and urgency of promptly
retaining new counsel. Tilson shall simultaneously provide a
copy of all such letters of notification to the Office of Bar
Counsel. He shall immediately cancel any pending
advertisements, to the extent possible, and shall terminate any
advertising activity for the duration of the term of suspension.
3. As stated in SCR 3.390(a), this order shall take effect on the
10th day following its entry. Tilson is instructed to promptly
take all reasonable steps to protect the interests of his clients.
He shall not during the term of suspension accept new clients or
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collect unearned fees, and shall comply with the provisions of
SCR 3.130-7.50(5).
4. In accordance with SCR 3.450, Tilson is directed to pay any
costs associated with these disciplinary proceedings against
him, should there be any, and execution for such costs may
issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order.
All sitting. All concur.
ENTERED: May 14, 2015.
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