SAN FRANCISCO — Thousand Oaks attorney Paul Nathan Taylor faces possible disbarment by default following a California State Bar Court recommendation.
Taylor allegedly issued electronic debits drawn on a trust account in which there was insufficient funds, according to the eight-page decision and order of involuntary inactive enrollment issued Sept. 5. Other allegations against Taylor included failure to perform legal services with competence, failure to maintain client funds, writing fraudulent checks and issuing a check from a nonexistent account.
The state bar court's recommendation included an involuntary inactive enrollment order that rendered Taylor involuntarily enrolled as an inactive member of the State Bar of California. That order was effective three calendar days after service, according to the recommendation.
Taylor failed to participate in person or via counsel and state bar's decision and order for disbarment was entered by default. In such cases, in which an attorney fails to participate in a State Bar of California disciplinary proceeding despite adequate notice and opportunity, the bar invokes Rule 5.85, which provides the procedure for the state bar to recommend an attorney's disbarment.
The state bar's entry for default was entered in March.
The state bar's recommendation is pending final action by the California Supreme Court, an appeal before the state bar's review department or expiration of time in which parties may request further review within the state bar court.
Four other investigation matters are pending against Taylor, according to the decision and order.
Taylor's recommended discipline was among the dispositions filed earlier this month by the state bar court's hearing department for September.
Taylor was admitted to the bar in California on Dec. 10, 1998, according to his profile at the state bar website.
In a previous discipline handed down in August 2011, Taylor received a stayed two-year suspension and was placed on two years probation with 90 days of actual suspension, according to information on his state bar profile. That discipline was handed down after Taylor stipulated to misconduct in two matters involving failure to maintain client funds and failure to perform services competently, according to the profile.