Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct of Iowa State Bar Association v. Mershon

316 N.W.2d 895 (1982)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
C
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Committee on Professional Ethics and Conduct of Iowa State Bar Association v. Mershon

Iowa Supreme Court
316 N.W.2d 895 (1982)

Facts

Attorney Robert Mershon (defendant) provided ongoing legal representation to Leonard Miller, a farmer in Iowa. Miller owned 100 acres of land that he wanted to develop into a residential development, but lacked the financing to support the project. A local landscape architect, R.O. Schenk, suggested to Miller and Mershon that the three men form a company to develop the land through obtaining third-party financing. The three men formed Union Township Development, Inc. (Union Township), to which Miller contributed the land, Schenk signed a promissory note agreeing to contribute engineering services, and Mershon signed a promissory note agreeing to perform future legal services. In exchange, Miller received 400 shares of stock and Mershon and Schenk received 200 and 400 shares of stock, respectively. The company never obtained financing and the project fell apart. Thereafter, Miller died and Mershon was appointed executor of Miller’s estate for a brief period of time until he resigned. Thereafter, the Iowa State Bar Grievance Commission (Commission) (plaintiff) investigated and reprimanded Mershon for failing to obtain Miller’s consent to his ownership in Union Township. Mershon appealed. The Iowa Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (McCormick, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 806,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 806,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Legal Ethics

Key Terms