THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 18, 1995 TAG: 9511181611
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
The State Bar has suspended the law license of Barry L. Jenkins for five years in response to 11 complaints of misconduct from 1993 to 1995.
Jenkins, who has been practicing law for 16 years, voluntarily agreed to the suspension. A public hearing had been scheduled for Friday in Richmond.
The bar issued the suspension Thursday, effective Jan. 1.
The bar's Disciplinary Board noted that three of the cases involve violations of trust account rules, but there was no allegation that any client lost money as a result.
On Friday, Jenkins said he had been busy outside the office pursuing other business matters and entrusted some of his law business to other people, and it was not done properly.
``It's my fault,'' Jenkins said. ``You have to accept responsibility for what goes on in your office.''
The complaints, described in the board's 11-page order, came from such disparate cases as personal injury claims, divorce and support cases, a medical malpractice lawsuit, a real estate closing, the probate of a will and collection of a debt.
Many alleged a severe lack of communication, including several months of unreturned letters and phone calls.
In one case, Jenkins handled the estate of a woman's parents who died in 1991. Jenkins received $27,415 from the sale of real estate and deposited the money into his trust account, but did not disburse the money for five months. When he did, he made five payments to heirs totaling $17,000. During that time, the account balance fell below $27,415, and sometimes fell below the amount of the individual disbursements, the board reported.
In another case, Jenkins settled a couple's personal injury claim in 1992 without their authorization, receiving $17,000 from an insurance company.
Jenkins did not tell the couple, and they found out months later after contacting the insurance company, the board reported. Jenkins turned over the money when the couple hired a new lawyer.
In a third case, Jenkins represented his fiancee in a 1994 real estate closing, but did not complete all the necessary transactions in a timely manner, the board reported.
Jenkins said he is cooperating with the bar on other investigations that do not involve himself. by CNB