People v. Efe.
No. 23PDJ056. 11/7/2024. Opinion Imposing Sanctions.
February 28, 2025
Following a disciplinary hearing, a hearing board disbarred Anselm Andrew Efe (attorney registration number 38357), effective January 10, 2025.
In September 2019, Efe agreed to provide services to a client in relation to the client’s disability and criminal matters. That month, Efe accepted a wire transfer of $15,000 from the client’s stepfather as a retainer for the representation. Efe instructed the stepfather to wire the money into his business account even though he had not earned the retainer funds when he received them. Within two weeks of receiving the funds, Efe had depleted his business account without transferring any money from that account into his trust account. But Efe did not perform work to earn the retainer during the representation. Nor did he produce records that he was required to maintain showing how he handled and earned the funds and the basis or rate for the fees he charged.
In December 2019, the client terminated the representation. The following December, the stepfather sent an email to Efe, demanding that he return $10,000 of the retainer to the client by the end of the month. The stepfather also demanded that Efe return the remainder of any unearned funds by January 2021 with an accounting of the services he provided. Efe agreed. By summer 2022, however, he had returned only $5,000 and had not provided an accounting. In September 2022, the stepfather renewed his demand that Efe return the unearned funds and give an accounting of any earned funds. Efe did not do so.
Through this misconduct, Efe violated Colo. RPC 1.15A(a) (a lawyer must hold client property separate from the lawyer’s own property); Colo. RPC 1.15A(b) (on receiving funds or other property of a client or third person, a lawyer must promptly deliver to the client or third person any funds or property that person is entitled to receive); Colo. RPC 1.15D (a lawyer must maintain appropriate trust account records); and Colo. RPC 8.4(c) (it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation).