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In November 2016, Michael Yi hired his brother to work as a legal assistant at his firm. During at least a portion of his employment at the firm, Yi’s brother served as a licensed notary public. In October 2020, Yi’s brother took a leave of absence from the law firm and no notary worked in the office from October 2020 until May 2021. During that time, Yi used his brother’s notary stamp and license, and he forged his brother’s signature on at least 14 different client settlement documents.
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved Yi’s amended stipulation to discipline and suspended him for 30 months. The suspension, which takes into account significant mitigation, is effective April 15. To be reinstated to the practice of law after his suspension, Yi must prove by clear and convincing evidence he has been rehabilitated, has complied with all disciplinary orders and rules and is fit to practice law.
In 2016, Andrew Newell met a Peruvian woman online. They began a romantic relationship and Newell proposed marriage to facilitate the woman’s medical treatment in the U.S. Newell served as the woman’s sponsor. She arrived in the U.S. in May 2017. The couple married in August 2017 and had a son together. Newell’s spouse was awarded a temporary green card. But the relationship deteriorated, and Newell threatened to withdraw his support or to seek her deportation.
In April 2021, after Newell moved to Mississippi with his family, he told his spouse he had purportedly received a letter from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, instructing them to mail their passports to verify their recent out-of-country travel. Newell’s spouse questioned the authenticity of the letter, but Newell insisted he didn’t fabricate it. She gave Newell her passport; he eventually returned it to her after some time. The couple filed for divorce in September 2021.
During the disciplinary investigation, Newell initially denied creating this letter but later admitted to fabricating it. He said he did it to prevent his spouse from taking their son out of the country. Newell is currently under a court-ordered child-support obligation but is now several months behind in his child-support payments. No evidence indicates he’s moved to modify his support obligation.
In a client matter, a jury entered a verdict in favor of one of Newell’s clients in April 2021. On the client’s behalf, Newell filed a countersuit. The client sent money to Newell via Venmo to cover the filing fee and that money went into Newell’s personal account. The parties later stipulated to a comprehensive settlement, and $20,000 was sent via Venmo to Newell’s personal account. Newell’s client had an interest in at least part of these funds. Newell acknowledges he didn’t place these funds in a trust account.
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved Newell’s stipulation to discipline and suspended him for 34 months, effective April 24. To be reinstated to the practice of law after his suspension, Newell must prove by clear and convincing evidence he has been rehabilitated, has complied with all disciplinary orders and rules and is fit to practice law.