A local family lawyer who left his client in the lurch in the middle of her divorce case has been disciplined by the State Bar of Arizona for the second time in less than a year.
Thomas C. McDaniel III of Tucson neglected to complete the required legal documentation when a divorce settlement was reached and skipped out on two review hearings before the client was forced to change lawyers in 2016, the regulatory body said in a news release Friday.
When asked to explain himself, McDaniel did not respond to the state bar complaint and did not offer a defense, the news release said.
McDaniel’s license to practice law was suspended for one year in the latest case.
In an earlier case, the state bar announced in May that it has suspended McDaniel’s license for two years after finding “clear and convincing evidence” that he violated ethical rules by failing to adequately represent a client seeking visitation rights for her children.
McDaniel could not immediately be reached for comment Friday. The phone number to his law office was no longer in service.