SAN FRANCISCO (Northern California Record) — San Diego attorney George Garcia Perez faces suspension and probation following a July 10 California Supreme Court order after he allegedly failed to cooperate participate in two disciplinary proceedings against him, according to a recent State Bar of California announcement and court documents.
The Supreme Court handed down a stayed one-year suspension and a year of conditional probation with the first 30 days spent on suspension. Conditions of Perez's probation include passing the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination as previously recommended by the California State Bar Court's Hearing Department. Perez also was ordered to pay costs.
His discipline will be effective Aug. 9, according to an announcement recently posted to the state bar's website.
Perez was admitted to the bar in California on Oct. 31, 2003, according to his profile at the state bar website. He had no prior discipline before the state bar, according to his profile.
Allegations against Perez stem from two complaints, one by a former client in a 2016 personal injury case and the other by a former client in a workers' compensation case for which Perez was hired in April, 2014, according to the stipulation filed with the state bar court in March.
In the personal injury case, Perez allegedly failed to take substantive steps to resolve his client's claim, to perform with competence, communicate, respond to inquiries, to take reasonable steps to avoid reasonably foreseeable prejudice in the case. Perez also was alleged to have constructively and improperly withdrawn from representing the client, according to the stipulation.
In the workers' compensation case, Perez allegedly failed for six months to promptly and substantively respond to status update and other client requests, according to the stipulation.
In both matters, Perez allegedly failed to provide substantive responses to the state bar during its investigations into the complaints, according to the stipulation. Perez's lack of prior discipline was "entitled to significant mitigating weight," the stipulation said.
"Further, the fact that [Perez]'s misconduct was limited to two client matters and occurred within a narrow timeframe in relation to his 15 years of discipline-free practice, shows that the misconduct is aberrational and unlikely to recur," the stipulation said.