Court order halts practice of LV lawyer

The Nevada Supreme Court has issued an order temporarily suspending the license of a Las Vegas bankruptcy lawyer who abruptly shut down his office, leaving some 400 unresolved cases.

The order prohibits Jorge Sanchez from practicing law in Nevada or accepting any money from his clients while the State Bar investigates allegations the attorney misappropriated client funds.

The high court's order, which was filed last Wednesday, said the 33-year-old Sanchez has "failed to safekeep funds in potentially hundreds of cases" and poses a "substantial threat of serious harm to the public."

Both the State Bar and Sanchez's lawyer, Michael Warhola, asked for the temporary suspension, the order said.

Sanchez, a 2006 graduate of the Michigan State University School of Law, and Warhola could not be reached for comment late Monday.

But in their joint petition, the bar and Warhola said Sanchez "does not presently maintain a Nevada office, which has caused most or all of his clients to now need to seek new counsel."

The petition said Sanchez has filed 669 cases in Bankruptcy Court since August 2008 and is still listed as the counsel of record in at least 400 of them.

Sanchez acknowledged in the petition that he received a retainer of $1,500 to $2,500 for each of his cases but no longer has any of that money to refund to his clients.

The Supreme Court ordered that a trust account be set up to hold any future funds from Sanchez's clients and that he not be given access to that money.

Assistant Bar Counsel Phil Pattee said the bar has received 14 complaints against Sanchez since Feb. 2 but is prohibited from further discussing the investigation.