Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board v. Ronald L. Ricklefs, 2014 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 32

Ronald L. Ricklefs, Iowa attorney since 1978, faced a grievance from the Board based on trust-account mismanagement and misrepresentation.
An audit in 2012 revealed significant trust-account deficiencies, including commingling client and personal funds and poor recordkeeping.
A prior 2008 audit had flagged similar issues, which Ricklefs failed to rectify.
The Grievance Commission found most violations occurred and recommended a 30-day suspension.
The Iowa Supreme Court suspended Ricklefs indefinitely with no reinstatement for three months, due to ongoing trust-account violations and misrepresentations, after weighing aggravating and mitigating factors.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Ricklefs violated trust-account rules	Board: violations established by defective records and commingling	Ricklefs: efforts to correct; no client harm shown	Yes, trust-account violations established
Whether Ricklefs committed dishonesty	Board: false questionnaire and auditor statements showing deceit	Ricklefs: acknowledged issues and attempted corrections	Yes, dishonesty established
Appropriate sanction for misconduct	Board: suspension warranted given pattern and aggravating factors	Ricklefs: reform efforts and mitigating factors	Indefinite suspension with no reinstatement for three months

Kersenbrock v. Iowa Bd. of Professional Ethics & Conduct, 821 N.W.2d 415 (Iowa 2012) (mitigating factors; incomplete trust records in audit context)
Sunleaf v. Iowa Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct, 588 N.W.2d 126 (Iowa 1999) (trust account used to hide funds; reprimand inclination)
Boles v. Iowa Bd. of Prof'l Disciplinary, 808 N.W.2d 431 (Iowa 2012) (pattern of trust-account violations; suspended for 30 days)
Clarity v. Iowa Bd. of Prof'l Disciplinary, 838 N.W.2d 648 (Iowa 2013) (extensive misconduct; one-year suspension with no reinstatement)