Lawyer who had relationship with judge won’t face discipline from Bar

The State Bar of Nevada has declined to discipline a former prosecutor who had a relationship with embattled Family Court Judge Steven Jones while appearing before him.

The relationship between former Deputy District Attorney Lisa Willardson and Jones led to a Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline complaint last month against the judge, who also is facing a federal indictment in what authorities allege was an unrelated $3 million investment fraud scheme.

Bar Counsel David Clark said Wednesday that his organization, which regulates lawyers, told Willardson that it won't sanction her over her relationship with Jones, which began in late 2011.

Clark said he reviewed videotapes of the judge's courtroom and found that Willardson appeared before Jones only during the relationship in uncontested matters that did not harm the integrity of the legal system.

Clark said he recommended to a bar screening panel that Willardson should not be disciplined.

At the time of the relationship , Willardson was a member of the district attorney's child welfare unit. District Attorney David Roger removed her from the unit and later fired her .

Roger filed the complaint that led to the judicial discipline proceedings against Jones, and his office asked the State Bar to look into Willardson's conduct. In its complaint, Roger's office contended that Willardson had "undermined the integrity of the legal profession and imperiled the public's confidence in the child welfare system." Roger on Wednesday declined to comment.

Willardson said she wasn't surprised by the bar's decision and was "grateful" that it concluded the complaint was "totally unfounded."

"The facts unequivocally establish that I did not breach any ethical or professional responsibility," she said.

Willardson said she intends to file bar complaints against the people who "maliciously filed this frivolous bar complaint against me" and "civil actions against the district attorney's office and the Las Vegas Review Journal."

The basis of any civil actions was unclear Wednesday.

Last month, the Commission on Judicial Discipline accused Jones of violating the Nevada Judicial Code of Conduct in his handling of the relationship with the former prosecutor.

Willardson "actively litigated cases in the judge's courtroom while the relationship was taking place, and Jones failed to disqualify himself from cases involving her, the commission alleged.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135.