Piotr Gabriel Reysner, 37, Sacramento, California, California state bar number 210937, was disbarred June 16, 2012, and was ordered to comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court.
Reysner stipulated to 49 counts of misconduct in 12 cases. He stipulated that in five matters, he committed acts of moral turpitude by habitually demanding and accepting advanced attorney fees and then failing to perform legal services agreed upon or to refund the advanced fees. He also did not account for client funds, respond to client inquiries or inform them of developments in their cases, or take steps to avoid prejudice to his clients when he stopped representing them.
In a bankruptcy matter, for example, he advised the client that she could sue the credit union that held the mortgage on her ranch. Doing so would lead to a loan modification, he said. Although Reysner filed a bankruptcy petition, he didn’t appear at a scheduled creditors meeting. He didn’t file suit in the predatory lending matter for 10 months and didn’t make any scheduled court appearances. He falsely told the client the matter had been taken off calendar. The client was unable to reach Reysner after she learned she faced a deadline for filing an amended complaint. Both the bankruptcy petition and the predatory lending suit were dismissed.
Another client hired Reysner to sue her lender in an effort to address her impending foreclosure. After receving $5,000 from the client, Reysner did no work of value, and didn’t show up for meetings with the client, respond to status inquiries, return her file or refund the unearned fee.
While representing the wife in a divorce, he missed two conferences and the client fired him. She was unable to negotiate on her own behalf because Reysner did not sign the substitution of attorney form until nearly a year later, when the client went to his office unannounced and obtained the form.
