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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 133 / 06-1320 Filed March 5, 2007 IOWA SUPREME COURT ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY BOARD, Complainant, vs. JAMES FRANKLIN HALL, JR., Respondent. ________________________________________________________________________ On review of the report of the Grievance Commission.

Grievance Commission reports that Respondent has committed ethical misconduct and recommends a suspension from the practice of law. LICENSE SUSPENDED.

Charles L. Harrington and Laura M. Roan, Des Moines, for Complainant.

Donna Ruth Beary, Des Moines, for Respondent.

2 CADY, Justice. The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board (Board) charged James F. Hall, Jr. with numerous violations of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers. The Grievance Commission of

the Supreme Court of Iowa (Commission) found Hall violated the Code of Professional Responsibility. It recommended Hall be suspended from the practice of law for a minimum period of fifteen months. On our review, we find Hall violated the Code of Professional Responsibility, and we suspend his license to practice law indefinitely, with no possibility of reinstatement for twelve months. I. Background Facts and Proceedings. He was admitted to the

James F. Hall, Jr. is an Iowa lawyer. practice of law in Iowa in 2002.

Hall was raised in Des Moines, and

enjoyed a variety of success in his life prior to practicing law. Hall was an exceptional multi-sport high school athlete and a one-time Olympic hopeful in track. He served in the United States Navy, and is a veteran of the Gulf War. He was the first member of his family to attend and graduate from college. Hall began his legal career as a sole practitioner in Des Moines. Within a short period of time, he moved from Des Moines and began practicing law in Waterloo as a sole practitioner. The demands on his time were great, and he began, unknowingly at first, to exhibit signs of what would later be identified as depression and bipolar disorder. He also had little understanding of the intricacies of an office practice, or the need to fully train and supervise staff. He had no real mentor within the profession, and primarily associated with people that provided little professional guidance. There was evidence that some people he

associated with used illegal drugs in his home. The confluence of these

3 circumstances, as well as others, foretold the disaster that would lie ahead. This cataclysm eventually unfolded in an eight-count complaint filed by the Board in 2006, and a hearing before the Commission that set forth the evidence largely supporting the complaint. Hall currently lives in Des Moines and practices with another lawyer in an office sharing arrangement. Hall's office practice in Waterloo was marked by disorganization and, at times, chaos. On one occasion in 2005, Hall signed the names of two clients to their bankruptcy petitions after he had traveled to the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids to file the petitions and discovered the signatures were missing. He did not obtain permission from the

clients to sign their names, and did not understand he was not permitted to sign the petitions for his clients. See 11 U.S.C.

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