Before the Court en banc. Opinion per curiam.
In this automatic review of a Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board hearing panel’s recommendation that attorney Ronald N. Serota be disbarred from the practice of law in Nevada, the Court concluded that clear and convincing evidence supported the panel’s findings that Serota failed to safekeep his client’s property (Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15), engaged in misconduct (RPC 8.4), and misappropriated approximately $319,000 in funds; the Court ordered Serota’s disbarment. In determining whether disbarment was the proper disciplinary sanction, the Court considered four factors: (1) the duty violated; (2) the lawyer’s mental state; (3) the potential or actual injury caused by the lawyer’s misconduct; and (4) the existence of aggravating or mitigating circumstances. In re Discipline of Lerner, 124 Nev. 1232, 197 P.3d 1067, 1077 (2008). The Court concluded that the conduct was intentional and caused his client actual injury. Aggravating circumstances existed because Serota had a prior disciplinary offense. The Court declined to find Serota’s medical condition or claimed mental disabilities mitigating factors that warranted a reduction in discipline. Disbarment ordered. (Kristen T. Gallagher, Associate in the Las Vegas office of McDonald Carano Wilson LLP.)
