Attorney: William Joseph Cutchin
Location: Mt. Pleasant
Bar membership: Member since 1998
Disciplinary action: Disbarred on April 22
Background: Cutchin was retained to prepare a will and trust for a client. After the client’s death, Cutchin advised the estate’s trustees to sign several blank counter checks on the trust account so he could pay bills as they came due. Cutchin wrote checks on the trust account which allowed him to fraudulently deposit $11,500 into his operating account, of which $9,118.76 was misappropriated. Cutchin failed to appear for a required interview with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, and instead wrote a letter to the ODC stating he had closed his practice, never intended to practice law again, and was moving out of the state. Several other clients complained that Cutchin had closed down his practice without informing them or leaving them any way to contact him.
Previous discipline: Cutchin had been on interim suspension since February 2013.
Attorney: Joel F. Geer
Location: Greenville
Bar membership: Member since 1999
Disciplinary action: Suspended until further notice on April 10
Background: The Supreme Court suspended Geer’s license to practice law until further order. He was enjoined from taking any action related to any law office trust account, and the court appointed a special receiver to assume responsibility for his client files and law office accounts to protect the interests of his clients.
Previous discipline: Geer was administratively suspended in March 2014 for failing to pay his license fees for 2014. He was reinstated later that month. He was administratively suspended again in March 2015 for failing to pay his license fees for 2015, and has not yet been reinstated.
All information contained in the Bar Discipline Roundup is compiled from orders issued by the South Carolina Supreme Court and edited by staff writer David Donovan. He can be reached at david.donovan@sclawyersweekly.com