Correction: The post originally reported the Mississippi Supreme Court suspended Mr. Yoder. Although the Supreme Court issued the order, a complaint tribunal rendered the decision and authored the opinion.
A complaint tribunal suspended attorney Dow Yoder from the practice of law for three years Tuesday after he commingled clients' funds with his own personal funds.
Two women each paid the attorney a $5,000 retainer to represent them in a criminal matter in March 2019. Mr. Yoder did not deposit the money in his lawyer trust account but instead deposited the funds in either his personal checking account or the office operating account.
Mr. Yoder discussed placing his clients in a pre-trial diversion program with the Madison County District Attorney. No other work was performed as the Ridgeland attorney pulled a disappearing act on the case. The clients tried to contact their lawyer between March 2019 and January 2020 but it was to no avail.
A grand jury indicted the women in February 2020 for drug offenses. They replaced their absent attorney with William Coon, Esq. and paid him a $3,500 retainer. Prosecutors agreed to place the women in a pre-trial diversion program. The diligent Mr. Coon managed to obtain expungements for his clients once they completed the program.
The Court said the wayward attorney commingled the retainers with his own funds and converted it for his own use. He performed no work to earn the fee nor did he keep "proper trust account records." The Court stated:
The injuries to Ms. Bellamy and Ms. Shine are very real. The two of them paid Mr. Yoder a total of$10,000.00. Mr. Yoder never returned to Ms. Bellamy and Ms. Shine, any of the money that he received from them. Additionally, after Mr. Yoder abandoned his representation of them, they had to spend an additional $3,500.00 to retain a new lawyer. The potential injury to Mr. Yoder's other clients is also very real.
The following aggravating factors are present in this case: a selfish motive in immediately converting clients funds upon receipt of the funds; abandoning his clients; and failing to acknowledge or accept any responsibility for his misconduct. The following mitigating factors are present in this case: absence of a prior disciplinary history; and a history of alcoholism.
The Court suspended Mr. Yoder from the practice of law for three years.
29 comments:
Didn’t Yoder run for Supreme Court awhile back?
I hate to see this. Wouldn’t have expected it from Dow.
Very qualified to be the Jackistan mayor.
Like an earlier poster at 12:11 (whose trust was obviously misplaced), really hate to see this. He's a good boy, keeps his room neat, has never been (on record) in a bar-room brawl, gives his nephews and other family members nice Christmas presents, loves his mama's cookin' and doesn't shoot pool. He's never abused a dog or farm animal. This must all be a mistake and can be blamed on the agency that has oversite. He will also only get deeper into alcoholism (a condition which was noted in the court record).
If'n I missed it, for his theft-behavior, will he immediately have to pay these women back plus interest and penalty? Again, unless I missed it, how can they be made whole?
Might I suggest that as the matter(s) were expunged from these ladies' records, it might have been prudent to have redacted their names from the Opinion before posting it..... obviously the Opinion is public record being on MEC, but still..... on a separate note, one would never have expected such from Dow. Always a stellar lawyer and hopefully this allows him to get some help with whatever is ailing him.
Not surprising at all.
@1236, the Bar does have a program where litigants can seek to be reimbursed. I'm not sure if they will be made whole from that program, from Dow, or a combination.
As @1211 noted, I hate to see this. I've known Dow for well over 30 years. It is tragic. The LJAP is set up to help protect both the attorney/judge and the public. However, the attorney/judge must be willing to seek help. Again, just sad.
Dow not practicing law is a great benefit to man kind.
If a criminal defense attorney receives a flat fee, isnt the money his? If he didnt represent and totally abandoned the clients, that's another matter. When would he be entitled to what part of the fee if there was no hourly-rate agreement?
Good point. I'm guessing here but I bet it relates to the fact he didn't do any work on this case. He couldn't give a refund because money went somewhere else i.e. he spent it.
"The LJAP is set up to help protect both the attorney/judge and the public. However, the attorney/judge must be willing to seek help. Again, just sad."
Two things wrong with that post. Allow me to help.
1) In your first sentence you have the order absolutely reversed.
2) There is no need to slash (/) attorney/judge since the judge is not the one with the problem.
Well...
3) How many times have we seen such comments as 'sad', "I hate to see this", "I wouldn't expect it" and "I've known him for X years" when many black attorneys spotlighted on this blog run afoul of the law or Kingfish's sensibilities? Let me answer...ZERO.
I don't know Dow Yoder but as far as I'm concerned, for the next three years he can sell minnows and Shaefer at the Valero station.
Oh...I'm a white man.
Just another example of vulnerable women being at the mercy of either the PoPo or lawyers or judges....or all three. Occasionally that paradigm backfires. Not often, but occasionally.
Dow is a good man. I have no idea his problem, but I hope he gets help.
Sounds like a lazy thief. Arrest him and let him have his day in court.
The saddest part is he talked to someone in the DA office about the same deal the new lawyer got. All he had to do was spend a couple of hours getting the paperwork together.
@4:16:
A flat fee is his if he does the work. It should be put in the trust account until he earns it. The best way to describe a flat fee is that the case will cost $X whether the lawyer obtains the result in 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, 5 months, or 5 years.
If you abandon the client’s case midstream, whatever fee is per se unreasonable and contrary to Rule 1.5.
Once watched Dow tell a jury that an evasive expert witness was just like:
“A pig at one of them state fairs….you know the pigs they grease up and let the kids try to ketch for a dollar…..he would get so close and when I had my arms around him - he’d shoot off across the whole room!”
It worked. Jury gave his client some cash.
I was unaware that attorneys were required to put retainers into escrow before performing the work. I learned something new today. Be certainly should have returned that portion for which no work was performed.
at 4:16 PM
A retainer isn’t a “flat fee.” You get the retainer then the attorney works against it drawing it down. Theoretically, any left returns to the client.
Oh the irony and karma...
I always like to give people the benefit of the doubt, and wait to hear the other side of the story. Especially when something is reported on this blog where people can attack behind anonymity.
But in this case, I had to wipe a smile off my face, as Mr. Yoder has previously spread false and damaging information about someone I know. The matter did not concern him, but he acted in an extremely judgmental and pompous manor as if it were his business to report.
And now here he appears as the subject of controversy. Now he knows how it feels. Maybe it will make him a better person.
Dow may have a Jones for alcohol.
Yes, I've seen Dow with a large bottle of liquid refreshment after he gave a seminar on the duties of an assistant district attorney. He felt no pain.
5:59 : Wouldn't be here blathering about it had these ladies been living better lives. CHOICES. Sooooo two drug dealers and a man with hootch issues bringing us together. What else is new.
@451 Intriguing that you consider yourself to be an arbiter of right and wrong with posts and/or truth.
If you have a problem with the LJAP (Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program) name, take it up with the Bar. Lawyer is before judges in the name of the program. If your problem is that the sentence was written that the program is to protect both groups (i.e. attorneys and judges and the public) as though there was some order of priority, you cannot understand what you read. "Both" indicates no order of priority, but equally. Your lack of understanding this is beyond me.
If you think that there is no need for a slash between attorney/judge, you don't understand what the LJAP is about. Again, I can't help your lack of understanding.
Clearly, you are not a long time reader of this blog. If you were, you would know full well that there have been a number of times where people were criticized for their actions, sympathy expressed for the wake of destruction they left, and hope for a better tomorrow for all involved. I can't help your ignorance to this fact or your lack of grace.
You concluded your post: "Oh...I'm a white man." I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean or imply. I won't judge a person by the color of their skin or hold them less or more accountable because of it either. But for you to post that as though it was some excuse or reasoning for your comments shows you are most likely a troll who is willfully ignorant and would never extend grace.
A person selling minnows and Schaefer at the Valero is a much better person than you could ever aspire to be
this guy used to be an assistant district attorney in madison county under michael guests administration
Karma is a bitch. Dow has wronged several people I know unnecessarily. What comes around goes around. John Goodman looking mofo..
I wonder if 9:40 feels better after lobbing that disjointed diatribe?
More to the story. I believe he has serious mental issues.
He claims to be living under a bridge in Jones County!
https://www.leader-call.com/news/free_news/lawyer-on-wrong-side-of-law-gets-suspended/article_babe1ba8-a561-11ec-b712-3fefc2278f97.html?fbclid=IwAR1r1BjZ0ybItP1HLLHp1VCTJvfkZ0b174SfCvKzBPWdXpBAZDvOX1zwei8
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