In Re C De Baca

Armando C de Baca is the respondent in this attorney regulation case. Having accepted an undivided 40% interest in real property of a client, as a fee, he engaged in a dishonest course of conduct to deprive the client's ex-wife of the benefit of her undivided one-half interest in the property. He misrepresented to third parties that the client was the sole owner, refused to recognize the ex-wife's bona fide interest in the property, and sought to deprive her of environmental settlement funds to which she was entitled as an owner. A hearing panel of our former grievance committee 1 approved…