SAN FRANCISCO – Fremont attorney Kurt Kevin Robinson, founder of a San Jose nonprofit for underprivileged youth, has been disbarred following a California Supreme Court order and misconduct allegations.
The state Supreme Court denied a petition for review before disbarring Robinson, according to its order handed down Jan. 30. Robinson's disbarment was effective March 1, according to a notification provided to the Northern California Record last week by The State Bar of California.
Robinson admitted "to the facts and culpability" in nine of the 14 counts of misconduct, according to the California State Bar Court's Aug. 9, 2018, decision and order of involuntary inactive enrollment that recommended the attorney be disbarred. Robinson admitted to multiple counts of failures to timely withdraw attorney's fees, cooperate, perform legal services with competence and to obey court orders, in addition to two counts of commingling.
Robinson is founder of the Champs Foundation, based in San Jose, a nonprofit program for underprivileged youth which Robinson served as president from 1985 to 2005, according to the decision and order and information on Robinson's LinkedIn page.
Robinson's service through Champs Foundation, in addition to his good character and community service, including mentoring youth and providing pro bono services, were considered mitigating factors in the proceedings against him, according to the decision and order.
Robinson was admitted to the bar in California on June 3, 1983, according to his profile at the state bar website.
In a prior discipline in March 2010, Robinson, then 54, received a fully stayed four-year suspension and was placed on four years' probation with two years of actual suspension, according to information on his state bar profile.
"Robinson was found by the State Bar Court Review Department to have failed to provide an accounting in one client matter involving obtaining a conservatorship and one count of failing to perform competently in another by not appearing at trial and then failing to have the resulting default judgment set aside," his profile says. "The review panel gave significant weight to mitigating evidence that Robinson suffered from serious kidney disease during the time of his misconduct as well as to his pro bono and charitable activities and character references."
Robinson had two prior disciplinary records for failing to meet statutory deadlines, according to his profile.