SAN DIEGO TAX LAWYER’S BUSINESS DEALS WITH ELDERLY CLIENT RESULT IN DISBARMENT RECOMMENDATION

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8, 2015 – A San Diego tax attorney is facing disbarment for entering into $1.4 million in questionable business deals with an elderly client.

The State Bar Court found John Douglass Jennings Jr., 70, of San Diego, (bar #52504), culpable of nine counts of failing to avoid interests adverse to a client and one count of failing to perform competently.

Jennings will be ineligible to practice law on Oct. 10 as a result of the Bar Court’s Oct. 7 disbarment recommendation. However, the disbarment must be approved by the Supreme Court before it takes effect.

Jennings’ misconduct stemmed from his representation of 78-year-old Samuel Robinson. A musician who had inherited most of his wealth from his family, Robinson hired Jennings in 2004 to provide estate planning and tax advice.

Jennings persuaded Robinson to invest or loan $1.4 million in a real estate project and two investment funds without being fully informed about the terms of the business deals, the court found. The client, now deceased, fired Jennings in 2009 had to sue to get his money back when the business deals went bust.

A copy of the decision is available on request.

http://www.calbar.ca.gov/AboutUs/News/ThisYearsNewsReleases/201523.aspx