A former West Plains lawyer, Schuyler Laverentz, has been suspended from practicing law for two years after the Missouri Supreme Court found he violated several rules of professional conduct. The decision was based on the testimony and opinion offered by members of the state's Disciplinary Hearing Panel and the testimony of Laverentz, who represented himself at the hearing.
The action is not a disbarment, but he is not allowed to apply for reinstatement of his license for at least two years, and a reinstatement is dependent on him correcting financial issues that led to it.
Court records show in 2015 Laverentz was placed on a two-year probation by the state's Office of Chief Disciplinary Council (OCDC), an agency of the Missouri Supreme Court that investigates allegations of misconduct by lawyers, prosecutes cases where lawyer misconduct poses a threat to the public or the integrity of the legal profession and maintains records of disciplinary information for lawyers licensed in Missouri.
The action was prompted by allegations that Laverentz commingled personal funds with client trust accounts, and Laverentz reportedly successfully completed a two-year probation period and required training.
The current disciplinary action, handed down Jan. 31 by the Missouri Supreme Court as an order, was based in part on allegations presented in 2020 that he has not filed personal tax returns or paid taxes since about 2013, and an investigation was opened, including an audit conducted by the OCDC.
It was concluded Laverentz violated conduct rules by using a non-lawyer employee to reconcile client trust accounts without sufficient guidance, and by commingling those accounts with his personal accounts put client funds at risk of garnishment by the IRS and state agencies with the knowledge he hasn't paid state taxes since 2013 or federal taxes since 2011.
Legally, client trust accounts put in place to assure payment to attorneys for services provided must be kept separate from attorney operating accounts or personal accounts, with fees transferred from trust accounts to attorneys as services are rendered, with accounting practices and records that reflect such.
Other findings showed Laverentz made false statements to an OCDC investigator regarding claims he was working with a tax professional to correct the tax-related violations, and an additional claim there were no funds in the client trust account other than client funds being held in that account.
Laverentz testified during the hearing he first hired a first tax professional to help him get his accounts in order and commit to a plan to pay the taxes owed, but had to hire a second one after the professional made no progress for about a year.
It was found by the Supreme Couty that Laverentz hadn't been aggressive enough in correcting the problem given its seriousness and the threat to client funds and his law license.
