Attorney: Daniel A. Beck
Location: Saluda
Bar membership: Member since 1977
Disciplinary action: Disbarred on June 10, retroactive to the date of his interim suspension
Background: For about 11 years, Beck used funds from his trust account for purposes for which those funds were not intended, including funding other clients’ litigation, cash advances to clients, office operating expenses, payroll and personal expenses, instructing his non-lawyer employees to issue checks from the account for those purposes. Beck failed to properly reconcile his trust account or otherwise maintain required records, and as a result made numerous mistakes in client transactions resulting in overpayments of attorney’s fees to the firm, overpayments to clients, and bank fees that were not covered by firm funds. Periodically, Beck attempted to restore misappropriated funds by leaving earned fees in his trust account, but no regular accounting of those credits was maintained. As of August 2011, Beck’s client ledger had an estimated $565,806 in negative balances. Beck self-reported his misconduct, fully cooperated during the disciplinary proceedings, and accepted full responsibility.
Previous discipline: Beck had been on interim suspension since September 2011 and on administrative suspension since April 2014.
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