State ex rel. Counsel for Dis. v. Birch, 957 N.W.2d 923

Dwaine L. Birch, admitted 1993, practiced alone in Burwell, Nebraska.
From Dec. 2015 to Apr. 2020 Birch neglected seven probate/estate matters (six in Garfield County, one in Loup County), failing to advance cases despite court and clerk magistrate notices.
The Counsel for Discipline investigated, upgraded grievances to formal charges, and charged violations of Neb. Ct. R. of Prof. Cond. §§ 3-501.1 (competence), 3-501.3 (diligence), and 3-508.4(a) & (d) (conduct prejudicial), plus breach of his attorney oath.
Birch admitted the factual allegations and that he failed to serve clients timely; he did not assert mitigating circumstances and accepted the recommended discipline.
The relator recommended a 45-day suspension followed by 2 years of monitored probation; the Supreme Court accepted that recommendation and imposed those sanctions, with monitoring and reporting conditions and costs to be paid.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Birch violated the disciplinary rules	Relator: neglect and failure to act establish violations of competence, diligence, and conduct prejudicial	Birch: admitted the allegations and did not dispute violations	Court: violations proven by clear and convincing evidence; oath breached
Burden of proof in disciplinary proceedings	Relator: charges must be established by clear and convincing evidence	Birch: did not contest standard or evidence	Court: applied clear and convincing standard and found it met
Appropriate discipline for the misconduct	Relator: 45-day suspension + 2 years monitored probation, citing similar precedent	Birch: accepted the recommended discipline and welcomed monitoring	Court: imposed 45-day suspension followed by 2 years monitored probation with specified monitoring plan
Conditions and enforcement of probation and reinstatement	Relator: monitoring plan, monthly reporting, and notification requirements; costs to be paid	Birch: agreed to monitoring and to comply with notification rules	Court: set detailed monitoring requirements, reinstatement conditions, and contempt and cost consequences for noncompliance

Counsel for Dis. v. Gast, 298 Neb. 203, 903 N.W.2d 259 (disciplinary proceedings are a trial de novo on the record)
Counsel for Dis. v. Island, 296 Neb. 624, 894 N.W.2d 804 (standard for proving charges and considerations for discipline)
State ex rel. Counsel for Dis. v. Troshynski, 300 Neb. 763, 916 N.W.2d 57 (comparable suspension and monitored probation for solo practitioner neglect)
State ex rel. Counsel for Dis. v. Nich, 279 Neb. 533, 780 N.W.2d 638 (prior discipline as aggravating factor)