Minnesota Disbarment

The Minnesota Supreme Court has disbarred an attorney for ethics violations in multiple matters. 

In 2021, J.V.-C., an undocumented immigrant, was arrested in California and extradited to Minnesota on an outstanding warrant. While in custody, J.V.-C. retained Padden to represent him for a $30,000 flat fee. J.V.-C. and Padden agreed that if J.V.-C. received a sentence of more than a year—which would trigger deportation proceedings— Padden would refund $25,000 of that fee to J.V.-C.’s wife. As written, the fee agreement failed to comply with Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 1.5(b)(1) (governing flat fee agreements), and it misstated the amount to be refunded to J.V.-C.’s wife if the conditions for a refund were met.

An updated fee agreement brought the original into compliance with Rule 1.5(b)(1), but again failed to accurately state the amount to be refunded. In a text exchange with J.V.-C.’s wife, who inquired as to why that amount was incorrectly stated, Padden affirmed his understanding that he would refund the $25,000 if J.V.-C. were deported. Padden and J.V.-C. then executed another updated fee agreement, accurately setting out the terms of the fee refund.

J.V.-C.’s wife wired Padden $30,000. On June 3, 2022, J.V.-C. was sentenced to 20 months in prison. Per Padden’s agreement with J.V.-C., this sentence—and the attendant deportation proceedings—required Padden to refund $25,000 to J.V.-C.’s wife. Padden failed to refund that $25,000.

Instead

In the J.V.-C. matter, Padden violated Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(c)2 by creating a forged fee agreement purportedly entitling himself to $25,000, and failing to remit any portion of those funds, thereby intentionally misappropriating client funds; Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 4.13 and 8.4(c) by making knowingly false representations to J.V.-C.’s wife; and Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 8.1(a),4 8.4(c), and 8.4(d)5 by making knowingly false representations to the Director in sending her the forged fee agreement in connection with her investigation and claiming that J.V.-C. signed the agreement.

In another matter

In August 2022, H.J. retained Padden and signed a fee agreement, pursuant to which H.J. paid an $8,500 advance fee. Padden did not obtain a receipt countersigned by H.J. for this payment, and he did not deposit the fee into his trust account. Three days after retaining Padden, H.J. terminated the representation and requested a full refund, which Padden refused. Padden stated that he had spent more than 30 hours on the matter and that the $8,500 was a “lump sum.”

A third complaint

In May 2022, Padden represented R.L. in several cases for a $5,000 flat fee. A few months later, Padden withdrew from each case, though they were pending, and failed to refund the unearned portion of the fee.

Missed court appearences

In 2023, Padden failed to appear for at least five court hearings in four matters. The matters in which Padden failed to appear are: (1) the S.Y.I. matter, in which Padden twice failed to appear for S.Y.I.’s plea hearing and, on the second failure to appear, a warrant was issued for S.Y.I.’s arrest; (2) the S.M.K. matter, in which Padden failed to timely appear for a pretrial hearing and was unaware that his client had failed to complete a class that would permit him to resolve the case by plea agreement; (3) the Q.D.C. matter, in which Padden failed to appear at a sentencing hearing; and (4) the J.J.S. matter, in which Padden and J.J.S. did not appear for a criminal trial, and Padden then failed to comply with the requirements to withdraw from his representation of J.J.S.

Sanction

In 2022 and 2023, Padden misappropriated client funds, failed to return unearned fees, failed to appear at hearings across multiple client matters, and violated many rules of professional conduct. His misconduct was neither a “brief lapse in judgment” nor a “single, isolated incident.”

The court further found that the referee did not err in evaluating mitigating and aggravating factors.

The Star Tribune had covered the discipline hearing, noting that Respondent contended he was being "railroaded" by the Office of Lawyer Regulation

Padden countered that the accusations were “outrageous,” adding that “I never stole a dime.” He said he missed only some court appearances in 2023 after he lost his cellphone and changed legal assistants. He indicated that the case that had been mounted against him was fraught with inaccurate information, and that a court-appointed referee who reviewed the case “rubber-stamped” the OLPR findings.

“I did not engage in any unethical conduct,” he said.

Notable past matters

Padden and his clients have occasionally been in the headlines, often in cases over allegations of misconduct by police. He represented the family of Terrance Franklin, a 22-year-old Black man killed by Minneapolis police in 2013, and later wrote a book about the case. He defended Diamond Reynolds in an assault case; before that, she became famous for livestreaming the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Philando Castile, by a St. Anthony police officer in 2016. Padden has been an attorney in Minnesota for 38 years.

(Mike Frisch)