Bellingham lawyer disbarred for taking fees, abandoning cases

A Bellingham family law attorney has been disbarred for taking $34,000 in unearned funds from clients, according to a ruling by the Washington State Bar Association.

Ten complaints outline how Kent Gregory Kok accepted fees, did less work than he agreed to do, and in a few cases cut off all communication with clients. He also failed to give refunds when he shuttered his practice, Kok Law Office, in January 2014, according to the association.

The state bar had opened an investigation six months earlier, when an overdraft fee on his Peoples Bank account revealed his recordkeeping wasn’t up to the standards of Washington’s Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers.

The inquiry found misconduct dating to 2011.

According to disciplinary records:

▪  A couple hired him for a case involving a construction project in Skagit County in 2006. Seven years later, in January 2013, the couple paid him an extra $250 fee for more work. Kok “did not earn the $250 fee,” and used the money for himself, according to the disciplinary board.

▪  A Mount Vernon man, 57, hired Kok to represent him in a divorce case in October 2011, at a price of $3,500. The attorney earned $700 and did not refund the rest. Superior Court records show Kok was on the case for almost two years but filed no motions.

▪  A Whatcom County woman, 51, hired Kok for a divorce case in October 2011. She paid an advance fee of $3,000 in June 2013. Kok did not earn the money and converted the funds for his own use.

▪  A Ferndale woman, on her son’s behalf, hired Kok to work on a child custody case for $4,900 in September 2011. He cut off communication two years later after earning most, but not all, of his fee, “although the exact amount is unclear,” according to the disciplinary board.

▪  A Whatcom County man, 32, hired Kok for a divorce in January 2012. The man paid a total of $2,405. Kok did not finish the case, did not refund any money, and cut off communication the next year.

▪  Kok did not earn a flat fee of $5,040 for a Whatcom County man’s divorce case in April 2012. He used other clients’ money to pay a $240 filing fee.

▪  Kok was hired to represent a Bellingham man, 37, in a child custody case in April 2012. Kok took $2,000 but gave the client no invoices and no refunds.

▪  A Whatcom County man paid Kok more than $10,000 for a divorce case that began in fall 2012. A month later Kok gave the client an invoice for $2,680. Over the next two years of proceedings he did not give the client any updates on expenses, and Kok “did not earn the entire $10,000 fee,” according to the bar’s disciplinary board.

▪  Kok withdrew from a client’s child custody case in May 2013 after accepting $2,500 in payment. Once he learned there was a conflict of interest, he refunded him $1,575 from an account of “funds belonging to other clients,” according to the disciplinary board.

▪  A man paid Kok a $500 fee to represent him in a business dispute in October 2013. Kok took no legal action, and the man settled the case on his own. Kok did not refund the money.

A reporter’s efforts to reach Kok weren’t successful. His law office’s old phone number now belongs to a heating and air conditioning business in Ferndale.

Kok started practicing law in 1999. He was disbarred last week. The state bar’s disciplinary board ruled he can be reinstated if he repays the $34,000 to his clients.

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 5:10 AM with the headline "Bellingham lawyer disbarred for taking fees, abandoning cases."