Current Status:  Not eligible to practice law (Not Entitled)

See below for more details.

Profile Information

The following information is from the official records of The State Bar of California.

Bar Number:	105583
Address:	Dickson & Associates 2323 N Tustin Ave Ste I Santa Ana, CA 92705	Phone Number:	(714) 541-8080
		Fax Number:	(714) 541-8090
		e-mail:	iuhfns@ichcu.comrydakg@gwqg.eduebatir@eqc.orgncuoff@dmkoemje.govyeqkdq@bhtrwpq.govggmd@nhy.orgroycd@aol.comkdtm@oocs.orgbbyq@dseae.orgpacw@pygesh.orggwgco@dhjj.comutjhq@gjnbaaf.govksmlt@klsp.govbqqqy@omygpmy.netpptub@soeu.orggnace@wqiliap.eduuldgg@csnd.comkkglj@gtrraljb.netbikpl@kwyit.eduphnuo@nadypycj.com
County:	Orange	Undergraduate School:	California St Univ; Los Angeles CA
District:	District 4
Sections:	None	Law School:	UCLA SOL; Los Angeles CA

Status History

Effective Date	Status Change
Present	Not Eligible To Practice Law
9/9/2011	Not Eligible To Practice Law
2/16/2006	Active
12/3/2005	Not Eligible To Practice Law
12/3/1982	Admitted to The State Bar of California

Explanation of member status

Actions Affecting Eligibility to Practice Law

Effective Date	Description	Case Number	Resulting Status
Disciplinary and Related Actions Overview of the attorney discipline system.
3/27/2013	Interim suspension after conviction	08-C-12531	Not Eligible To Practice Law
9/9/2012	Ordered inactive	07-O-11521	Not Eligible To Practice Law
9/9/2011	Discipline w/actual suspension	06-O-11022	Not Eligible To Practice Law
12/3/2005	Discipline w/actual suspension	01-O-03184	Not Eligible To Practice Law
10/21/2001	Discipline, probation; no actual susp.	96-O-06449
5/15/1998	Private reproval, public disclosure	96-O-03481
Administrative Actions
This member has no public record of administrative actions.

State Bar Court Cases

NOTE: The State Bar Court began posting public discipline documents online in 2005. The format and pagination of documents posted on this site may vary from the originals in the case file as a result of their translation from the original format into Word and PDF. Copies of additional related documents in a case are available upon request. Only Opinions designated for publication in the State Bar Court Reporter may be cited or relied on as precedent in State Bar Court proceedings. For further information about a case that is displayed here, please refer to the State Bar Court's online docket, which can be found at: http://apps.statebarcourt.ca.gov/dockets/dockets.aspx

DISCLAIMER: Any posted Notice of Disciplinary Charges, Conviction Transmittal or other initiating document, contains only allegations of professional misconduct. The attorney is presumed to be innocent of any misconduct warranting discipline until the charges have been proven.

Effective Date	Case Number	Description
3/27/2013	08-C-12531	Interim Suspension Order [PDF]
9/9/2011	06-O-11022	Opinion [PDF] [WORD]
12/3/2005	01-O-03184	Stipulation [PDF]
Pending	07-O-11521	Decision [PDF] [WORD]
Pending	08-C-12531	Initiating Document [PDF]

California Bar Journal Discipline Summaries

Summaries from the California Bar Journal are based on discipline orders but are not the official records. Not all discipline actions have associated CBJ summaries. Copies of official attorney discipline records are available upon request.

September 9, 2011

ROY CHESTER DICKSON, 64, of Santa Ana was suspended for two years, stayed, placed on two years of probation with a one-year actual suspension and ordered to take the MPRE within one year and comply with rule 9.20 of the California Rules of Court. The order took effect Sept. 9, 2011.

A State Bar Court review panel upheld a hearing judge’s findings that Dickson engaged in the unauthorized practice of law when he filed a petition with the court of appeal while he was suspended. Dickson had sought review, contending that the recommended one-year suspension was excessive.

Dickson was suspended in 2005 for trust account violations in three matters. While he was under investigation for capping, Dickson filed a petition in the court of appeal challenging a subpoena of his files and records issued by the Orange County district attorney. He represented himself as a licensed attorney. The review panel wrote, “Dickson was under no deadline pressure to file the petition and had he waited two days, he would have been entitled to” say his law license was current.

Dickson correctly argued that it was permissible for him to represent himself and to file the petition in the court of appeal on his own behalf even though he was not entitled to practice law. However, the review panel found he misrepresented his status, claiming under penalty of perjury that he was entitled to practice as “an attorney duly licensed to practice in all courts of the State of California.” The misrepresentation amounted to the unauthorized practice of law, the review panel said. It also agreed with the hearing judge, who rejected Dickson’s claims that his UPL was “a simple oversight.”

Although the hearing judge found no mitigating factors, the review judges gave him some mitigation for entering into a stipulation with the bar.

Dickson had been disciplined three times previously - he was publicly reproved in 1998, suspended in 2001 for failing to perform legal services competently or keep clients apprised of significant developments and he was suspended again in 2005 for trust account mismanagement.

December 3, 2005

ROY CHESTER DICKSON [#105583], 58, of Yorba Linda was suspended for two years, stayed, placed on two years of probation with a 75-day suspension and was ordered to take the MPRE within one year. The order took effect Dec. 3, 2005.

Dickson stipulated to four counts of misconduct in three cases.

In the first, he was hired to represent a group of beneficiaries in a probate matter. He received almost $200,000 in proceeds for the clients, but did not disclose that he’d received nearly half — $91,633 from the sale of real property. Several of the clients hired a new lawyer, and, when they learned about the property sale, asked him for their share.

Dickson mistakenly believed he was entitled to keep the entire amount as legal fees because some additional trust assets were discovered around the time the clients hired a new lawyer. Dickson and his clients eventually settled their dispute in a confidential agreement and he owes no restitution.

He stipulated that he failed to notify clients of his receipt of funds and did not maintain an accurate record of client funds.

In a second matter, Dickson hired a client to perform clerical duties in his office. When she quit, she filed a claim for unpaid wages with the California State Labor Commissioner, who awarded her $15,870. Dickson paid the claim plus interest nearly four years later. He stipulated that he violated his duty to uphold the law.

In the third matter, he wrote a check against insufficient funds in his client trust account and stipulated that he did not maintain a proper ledger for the account.

Dickson also was disciplined in 2001 for failing to perform legal services competently, return client files or communicate with clients. He was privately reproved in 1998.

In mitigation, he acted in good faith, cooperated with the bar’s investigation and demonstrated remorse.

October 21, 2001

ROY CHESTER DICKSON [#105583], 53, of Yorba Linda was suspended for six months, stayed, and placed on four years of probation. The order took effect Oct. 21, 2001.

Dickson stipulated to misconduct, which was primarily the result of health problems, in two cases.

He was employed to represent a plaintiff, a convicted felon confined to prison, in a medical malpractice case. The plaintiff’s brother paid Dickson $5,000 and signed a fee agreement allowing for an additional 20 percent of any recovery.

Dickson failed to appear at six hearings or depositions over the course of several months. During that time, he visited or was admitted to the hospital nine times, suffered an ulcerated eye and was left partially blinded. He also became dependent on pain medication. He filed three motions to set aside various court rulings; two were granted.

The client sued him for malpractice; the case was settled.

Although the client was aware of Dickson’s medical problems and Dickson said he was incapable of carrying out his obligations, he never sought to be relieved from the case.

His behavior was similar in a breach of contract case he was handling at the same time. A default judgment was entered when Dickson failed to appear and the client ultimately asked Dickson to file a bankruptcy petition for him.

Dickson filed a motion requesting a time extension to file a reorganization and payment plan, but the deadline passed. The civil case was taken off calendar and the bankruptcy court closed the bankruptcy case.

Dickson stipulated that in both matters, he failed to perform legal services competently or respond to client status inquries.

Dickson was privately reproved in 1998 for failing to perform, return client files or communicate with clients.

In mitigation, he cooperated with the bar’s investigation, reimbursed the second client for unearned fees, and attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to deal with his pain killer dependency.