The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday ordered a Papillion attorney be disbarred for misappropriating more than $137,000 in client funds.
The court found Craig M. Martin, who was admitted to practice law in Nebraska in 2011, violated his oath of office as an attorney. Martin worked for an Omaha family law firm before leaving to start a solo practice in March 2023.
“(Martin) misappropriated a significant amount of client funds from his trust account, directly harming his client and the reputation of the bar,†the state’s high court wrote in its opinion ordering Martin’s disbarment. “He continues to fail to comply with efforts by the office of the Counsel for Discipline to investigate the allegations against him and has not complied with licensing fees and mandatory attorney reporting requirements.
The case that led to Martin’s disbarment began in August 2022, when a Sarpy County man hired Martin to represent him in divorce proceedings.
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As part of those proceedings, in November 2022, Martin’s client sold his real estate in Minnesota with the stipulation proceeds from the sale would be held in a trust account controlled by Martin until the court determined how funds should be divided. When Martin left the law firm to start his own practice, the client kept Martin as his attorney.
Martin’s former employer issued a trust account check in the amount of $137,248 — the value of the Minnesota real estate — to Martin, which was then deposited into a new trust account. Over the next two months, according to court documents, Martin “misappropriated all of (the client’s) funds without (his) knowledge or consent.â€
Last November, the Nebraska Counsel for Discipline filed formal charges against Martin. Martin did not file a response to contest the allegations. He also failed to file a legal brief on the issue of discipline as was ordered by the court.
As the Counsel for Discipline pointed out in court filings, the Nebraska Supreme Court has previously held that attorneys failing to participate in the discipline process by not filing an answer to the formal charges is a “very serious matter†that displays “a disrespect for the court’s disciplinary jurisdiction.â€