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Judicial nominee says he violated rules of conduct The Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama State Bar has accepted a conditional guilty plea from Jackson attorney Stuart C. DuBose related to his actions regarding the preparation of a will for a deceased Washington County man. DuBose was involved in a civil dispute regarding the estate of the man he wrote the will for but it was settled out of court last week and the specifics of the settlement were not publicized. The suspension has apparently been arranged so that it will not interfere with DuBose serving as a new circuit judge. A news release Monday from the Bar detailed the actions taken by the Disciplinary Commission on Oct. 4. "Under the terms of the conditional guilty plea, DuBose will be suspended from the practice of law for a period of 45 days effective Nov. 8, 2006." Jeremy McIntire, general counsel for the bar, would not comment on any significance of the suspensions starting date. DuBose, the Democratic nominee for a circuit judgeship in the First Judicial Circuit, is expected to be formally elected in the Nov. 7 General Election since he does not have any Republican opposition. Since an attorney must have his law license to be a circuit judge, it has been suggested that DuBose could not be elected on Nov. 7 if his license was in suspension on that day. A 45-day suspension will mean his license would be restored by Dec. 22, which would be in plenty of time for him to be sworn in as a new circuit judge on Jan. 15. Apparently, he can become a judge if the license suspension time frame has passed and it has been reinstated. The Bar's press release described the case. "In April of 2003, a woman [Cheryl Weaver, although the release does not name her] visited Dubose [the release erroneously lower cases the "b"] at his law office and asked him to prepare and draft a will for an elderly man [Joseph Sullivan, also not named in the release] she was taking care of. The woman informed Dubose that the man was dying and wanted to leave his entire estate to her. The woman also informed Dubose that he should name himself as attorney for the state in the will. "Dubose proceeded to draft a will that named the woman as the sole beneficiary of the man's estate. The will also included provisions naming Dubose as the attorney for the estate and the successor executor. Dubose was aware that under the circumstances there would be a will contest, however, Dubose did not meet or speak with the elderly man about the will or its provisions. "After drafting the will, Dubose gave the will to the woman to have it signed, witnessed and notarized. Dubose also prepared a certificate of competency for the woman to have signed by the man's doctor. The will was signed, witnessed, and notarized on or about April 11, 2003. The man subsequently died on or about April 29, 2003. After being informed that a will contest was going to be filed, Dubose instructed the woman to meet with him regarding the estate. Dubose and the woman then entered into an employment agreement in which Dubose was employed to represent the estate and the woman. Dubose failed to inform the woman of the potential for a conflict of interest involving his representation of both she and the estate," the news release concludes. The Disciplinary Commission cites several violations, including misconduct, failure to provide competent representation to a client, failure to properly communicate a matter to a client so that they can make informed decisions regarding representation, and conflict of interest. Monroeville attorney John Milton Coxwell, hired by Weaver's attorneys to review the Sullivan estate dispute, said he thought DuBose has violated the "standards of care" required of attorneys. Sullivan's estate was estimated at $2.5 million or greater, according to court documents. The private settlement did not disclose how the estate was to be disposed of. General Counsel McIntire said Monday that the Bar's rules do not prohibit it from taking the initiative in pending criminal or civil cases. He also said that the Bar acted on an anonymous complaint in investigating the matter. Some local attorneys found that surprising, saying they did not think anonymous complaints were considered. The Rules of Professional Conduct are promulgated by the Alabama Supreme Court which must act on the action taken by the Disciplinary Commission. McIntire said he did not know when the justices would act on the matter.
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