Iowa Supreme Court decides Cedar Rapids lawyer won't get license back

A Cedar Rapids attorney who was suspended from practicing law in 2008 for disciplinary issues won't be reinstated because his license was revoked Friday by the Iowa Supreme Court.

The court revoked the license of Brandon Adams because he misappropriated client funds for personal use, according to the ruling. Adams never applied for reinstatement after the 2008 suspension and he didn't respond or answer the June 13, 2011 complaint by the court's Attorney Disciplinary Board regarding the misappropriated funds.

The Grievance Commission, who recommended the revocation, found numerous ethical violations and after examining evidence in two cases, found Adams violated numerous rules by engaging in acts involving “dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.”

In two personal injury cases, Adams used some of the insurance settlements for his own personal use, instead of paying the clients' medical providers, according to the ruling.

Adams didn't respond to one of the clients when he tried to get information about when his medical bills would be paid, according to the ruling. In the other case, Adams never provided an accounting to the client of how the settlement money was distributed.

According to the ruling, the court didn't consider the other violations after examining the evidence of the misappropriated funds.

"To do so is simple unnecessary," the court stated. "Based on the proven misappropriations of client funds for his own personal use, we revoke the license of Brandon Adams to practice law in this state."