KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION V. VALERIE LYNN BOCK
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
TO BE PUBLISHED
upromt 49ourf of
2007-SC-000866-KB
MOVANT
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
V.
IN SUPREME COURT
RESPONDENT
VALERIE LYNN BOCK
OPINION AND ORDER
The Kentucky Bar Association (KBA) moves this Court to enter an order finding
Respondent, Valerie Lynn Bock, guilty of five counts of professional misconduct and
suspending her license to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for a period of
thirty (30) days pursuant to SCR 3.380 . Bock's KBA member number is 86343 and her
Bar Roster address is 308 North Broadway, Providence, Kentucky, 42450. After
reviewing the findings of the Board of Governors, we agree with the KBA's
recommendation, find Bock guilty of the charges brought against her, and order that her
license to practice law in Kentucky be suspended for thirty (30) days.
The charges filed against Bock were based on her interactions with her client,
James Wiseman, beginning on May 10, 2006. Wiseman retained Bock to file a Petition
for Dissolution of Marriage and paid Bock $921 .00 for her representation in the divorce
proceeding . Bock, however, never filed the divorce petition and failed to communicate
with Wiseman after the initial fee was tendered . Wiseman then discharged Bock as his
attorney and requested a refund of the fee, which he never received . On November 3,
2006, Wiseman filed a bar complaint against Bock with the KBA, which was served on
Bock on January 2, 2007 . Bock did not respond to this complaint . On June 25, 2007,
the Inquiry Commission charged Bock with violating five sections of SCR 3.130 for her
misconduct. Bock never filed an answer to this charge. The Board of Governors
subsequently found Bock guilty on all five counts, which included the violation of Count
1 - SCR 3.130-1 .3, Count 2 - SCR 3.130-1 .4(a), Count 3 - SCR 3.130-1 .16(d), Count 4 SCR 3.130-8 .3(c), and Count 5 - SCR 3.130-8 .1(b) . After finding Bock guilty of the
charges, fourteen Governors voted to recommend that Bock be suspended for 30 days
and pay restitution to her client, while one voted for public reprimand with restitution .
We agree with the Board of Governors that in failing to file her client's divorce
petition, not communicating with her client, not refunding the fee to her client for the
work she did not do, and not responding to the complaint filed against her, Bock
violated the following Rules of Professional Conduct : (1) SCR 3 .130-1 .3, failing to act
with "reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client" ; (2) SCR 3 .1301 .4(a), failing to "keep
a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter"; (3)
SCR 3 .130-1 .16(d), failing to "take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect
a client's interests" after the lawyer's representation is terminated, such as "refunding
any advance payment of fee that has not been earned" ; (4) SCR 3 .130-8 .3(c),
"engag[ing] in conduct involving dishonesty" ; and (5) SCR 3 .130-8 .1(b), failing to
"respond to a lawful demand for information from an admissions or disciplinary
authority." We therefore grant the KBA's motion and adjudge Bock guilty of the charges
brought against her by the Inquiry Commission .
According, it is hereby ORDERED that:
2
1 . Valerie Lynn Bock is suspended from the practice of law in Kentucky for a
period of thirty days pursuant to SCR 3.380 . Said suspension shall expire by
its own terms subject to the provisions of SCR 3 .510(2) .
2 . Bock shall pay restitution to the client, James Wiseman, in the amount of
$921 .00.
3 . In accordance with SCR 3.150(1), Bock is directed to pay the costs
associated with this action in the amount of $207.59, for which execution may
issue from this Court upon finality of this order.
All sitting . All concur.
Entered : February 21, 2008.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.