An Iowa attorney, was suspended one-month for not depositing a number of client retainers (in cash) into her trust account. Instead, she deposited them into her law firm operating account or in books on her bookshelf for her own personal use.
Her former paralegal blew the whistle on Ms. Kersenbrock's unethical behavior and also testified for the prosecution in the disciplinary case. Ms. Kersenbrock stated that "she wasn't required to deposit most of the retainers into her trust account, because they had already been earned when she put them into her operating account." She admitted to putting a $3,000 cash retainer into her drawer once for several weeks.
Due to there being several violations, Kersenbrock was given a one month suspension, instead of the public reprimand that the disciplinary committee recommended.
