Pasadena Attorney Disbarred for Misappropriating Funds

A Pasadena-based family law attorney has been disbarred after the California State Bar Court found she had misappropriated over $64,000 in one client matter and failed to perform competently in another.

A decision by the court said Mary Derparseghian, 41, also known as Mary Der-Parseghian, was disbarred on January 19 this year and ordered to comply with Rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court, which among other actions requires the disbarred lawyer to “notify all clients being represented” about his or her disbarment or consequent disqualification to act as an attorney, and to notify the clients to seek legal advice elsewhere.

Derparseghian had practiced law from an office at 35 North Lake Avenue, state records show.

The decision cited one client matter where Derparseghian allegedly failed to deposit $5,000 in costs to her client trust account in violation of established procedures, and promptly withdrew funds she had earned from the trust account without regard to the fact that she had to maintain more than $60,000 in the trust account. The decision said she also did not prepare and maintain required records for the trust account.

The first case involved Derparseghian’s representation of a couple who hired the lawyer in February 2010 to represent them in a dispute with their homeowners association over a leaky roof that caused mold in their condominium.

In the second client matter, Derparseghian allegedly failed to advise her client that he needed to appear at a court trial, did not request a trial continuance and did not prepare for nor appear at a trial or hearing on a proposed judgement.

This case involved Derparseghian’s representation of a businessman and his corporation, Desert Classic Concours D’Elegance, which was sued by Image Lab Inc. for breach of contract in 2011. Records with the State Bar Court reportedly show the lawyer failed to properly handle the case, including advising her client he did not need to attend trial, which led to the client eventually losing. The client said he was surprised to read in a local newspaper he was being ordered to pay Image Lab Inc. over $116,000 in a money judgement.

Court records show Derparseghian had initially admitted to five counts of misconduct, leading a State Bar Court hearing judge to recommend disciplinary action that included a two-year actual suspension.

When Derparseghian and the Office of Chief Trial Counsel appealed, a three-judge review panel upheld the hearing judge’s culpability findings but added that Derparseghian’s misconduct was intentional, finding more factors in aggravation than in mitigation, and recommended she be disbarred.

Derparseghian has been practicing law in California since 2003, the records showed.