In Re Petition for DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST Timothy Joseph KLIMA, a Minnesota Attorney, Registration No. 202885

Minnesota Supreme Court
In Re Petition for DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST Timothy Joseph KLIMA, a Minnesota Attorney, Registration No. 202885, 854 N.W.2d 243 (Minn. 2014)
Alan

In Re Petition for DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST Timothy Joseph KLIMA, a Minnesota Attorney, Registration No. 202885

Opinion

ORDER

The Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility has filed a petition for disciplinary action seeking reciprocal discipline under Rule 12(d), Rules on Lawyers Professional Responsibility (RLPR), based on a decision of the Iowa Supreme Court publicly reprimanding respondent Timothy Joseph Klima. See Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Bd. v. Klima, No. 13-1815, Order (Iowa filed Jan. 3, 2014). The Iowa public reprimand was based on respondent assisting another lawyer in his firm in violating the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct by helping him draft a will in which respondent received a substantial gift and failing to explain to the client the conflict inherent in including such a gift in a will drafted by a member of respondent’s firm, the implications of the gift, and the need for independent counsel, in violation of Rules 32:1.4(a)(2) and (b) and 32:8.4(a) of the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Director and respondent have entered into a stipulation in which respondent admits the allegations in the petition for disciplinary action and waives his rights under Rule 12(d), RLPR. The parties jointly recommend that the appropriate discipline is a public reprimand.

The court has independently reviewed the file and approves the jointly recommended disposition.

Based upon all the files, records, and proceedings herein,

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that respondent Timothy Joseph Klima is publicly reprimanded. Respondent shall pay $900 in costs and disbursements pursuant to Rule 24, RLPR.

BY THE COURT:

/s/Alan C. Page Associate Justice

Reference

Full Case Name
In Re Petition for Disciplinary Action Against Timothy Joseph Klima, a Minnesota Attorney, Registration No. 202885.
Status
Published