LOS ANGELES — Attorney David Anthony Harper was disbarred from the practice of law in California on Nov. 20.
The attorney was licensed to practice in California but resided in Colorado, according to his profile page on the California bar website. The decision was made in light of Harper’s alleged failure to comply with the conditions of his probation.
Harper was placed on probation following an incident in Florida, where he is also licensed. Harper was placed on a one-year suspension and one-year probation as the result of a case in which he represented his mother. A dispute broke out between Harper and opposing counsel, and Harper allegedly developed a vendetta against the judges in Seminole County. In less than a year, he filed 10 pleadings against the four judges in his mother’s case seeking to disqualify them citing accusations that were determined to be unfounded.
After reviewing the facts of the Florida issue, the State Bar Court of California determined that Harper had shown misconduct by making statements without factual basis, failing to preform legal services with competence, and not obeying a court order. As part of Harper’s probation conditions, he was required to complete Ethics School, a condition he allegedly failed to meet.
The State Bar sent a notice of disciplinary charges to the address Harper had registered. The notice was returned to sender, and according to court documents, further steps were taken to properly contact Harper. Eventually, an email was sent to the address Harper had on file, alerting him that if he did not respond to the disciplinary charges, a default response would be entered. The email went unanswered.
On Jan. 27, 2016, the State Bar Court proceeded with disbarment and sent the filings to his address. The petition noted that the requirements for disbarment had been met as there were no other pending disciplinary matters against the attorney and that his client security fund had not paid out any of the fees accumulated through his misconduct.
According to the court documents, the disbarment states that Harper must comply with the California Rules of Court Rule 9.20 subsections (a) and (c). Under those rules, he is required to contact all of his clients of the ruling, deliver any papers necessary to clients in regards to their cases, return any fees that remain unearned, and notify opposing counsel of pending litigation of his disbarment. Harper must then file with the clerk of the State Bar Court that he has complied with his disbarment provisions.
Harper earned his law degree from The Santa Clara University’s School of Law and was admitted to the Bar Association in 1984. He did his undergraduate studies at The University of Florida.