KC-area lawyer ordered to surrender for 30 days in jail after working while suspended
The Missouri Supreme Court has ordered a former North Kansas City attorney, who continued to take new clients after his law license was suspended, to surrender himself to serve a 30-day jail sentence.
In a filing last week, Chief Justice George W. Draper III ordered Allan H. Bell, 79, to surrender to the Cole County Sheriff’s Office by 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The order came after Bell was found in criminal contempt in June for continuing to hold himself out as a lawyer after his license was suspended. His license had been suspended two months earlier because he misappropriated tens of thousands of dollars from dozens of clients, according to the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, the agency charged with investigating attorney misconduct.
In a motion to reconsider, Bell’s lawyer, David Bandré, asked the court to instead allow Bell to serve his 30 days under house arrest. He expressed concern that jail staff would not be able to properly administer Bell’s medication for a “multitude” of serious health issues.
Bell was scheduled for a doctor’s appointment Wednesday, and his doctor had advised he be “excused from activities” until Sept. 30 because of “pain and memory issues,” Bandré wrote. The motion was overruled.
Specializing in immigration, employment and labor law, Bell was disbarred from practicing law after he voluntarily surrendered his license and admitted to violating the rules of preserving client funds.
Since mid-2017, at least seven clients had filed complaints against Bell. He has been accused of faking an expert report and overcharging vulnerable clients who did not speak English, among other things.
While suspended, Bell engaged in “deceptive conduct” to hide the fact he was still working, which included backdating his receipt book to make it appear he received funds before his suspension, not after, according to a Jackson County judge’s findings.
Bell’s attorney has said Bell believed he had the right to continue dealing with his clients after his suspension.
In a previous interview, Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel called his office’s filing for criminal contempt against an attorney an “extraordinary process that we normally do not have to engage in.”
