The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel is an independent office of the Colorado Supreme Court, whose building is seen here in 2015. (The Denver Post)
A Denver attorney who has been suspended from practicing law for mishandling one client’s retainer is being sued for allegedly stealing another client’s $14,000 settlement.
Armin Sharifi, who passed Colorado’s bar exam in 2016, was suspended for six months on April 11. He must also spend two years on probation and complete ethics training.
Sharifi graduated from the University of Colorado and then the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. After a short time at an immigration law firm, he opened the Colorado Law Center out of his northeast Denver home, according to his LinkedIn page.
“Intent on realizing my vision of spearheading a small, niche firm into a thriving practice, I started my own office in 2017,” that LinkedIn page states. “…Our primary focus areas include civil litigation, insurance, business and specialized immigration.”
In 2021, he was hired to handle a divorce case and was paid a $12,500 retainer, according to an agreement between Sharifi and the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, which investigates wrongdoing by lawyers. Their agreement does not name his client.
Sharifi never worked on the divorce case but did help with a property dispute, paying himself from the retainer as he did. He never provided invoices to the client and when she asked for an accounting and refund of her money, he repeatedly delayed for 20 months before eventually returning $2,900. The client does not believe that Sharifi earned the other $9,600.
Armin Sharifi (LinkedIn)
The Office of Attorney Regulation asked that he be suspended for six months for dishonesty, mishandling his client’s property and failing to return her property. The office noted that Sharifi hadn’t been in trouble before, was inexperienced and was very remorseful.
Disciplinary Judge Bryon Large agreed and suspended his license for six months April 11.
A voicemail left on Sharifi’s cell phone was not answered. Neither were calls and emails to his lawyer, Derek Anderson in the Boulder office of Winget Spadafora & Schwartzberg.
Then, on April 17, Sharifi faced more serious allegations in a Denver District Court lawsuit.
ASI Capital, an investment firm in Colorado Springs, said that it hired Sharifi and his Colorado Law Center in 2020 to collect from a man who owed ASI money. Two years later, the man transferred $14,000 to the Colorado Law Center, ending his dispute with ASI.
But Sharifi never told ASI about the payments, according to that company’s lawsuit, and kept the cash for himself. So, ASI is suing him and his former firm for theft, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. It wants the $14,000 and all legal fees that it paid Sharifi.
ASI claims that while he was the company’s lawyer, Sharifi had personal problems that included “attending one or more legal proceedings and conferences while intoxicated.”
Attorney Bill Eikenberry of Jones & Keller, who declined to comment, represents ASI.
Sharifi said on his LinkedIn page that he has moved to California and will take the bar exam there soon. That page calls him “a diligent, team-oriented, methodical attorney.”
The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel is an independent office of the Colorado Supreme Court, whose building is seen here in 2015. (The Denver Post)
A Denver attorney who has been suspended from practicing law for mishandling one client’s retainer is being sued for allegedly stealing another client’s $14,000 settlement.
Armin Sharifi, who passed Colorado’s bar exam in 2016, was suspended for six months on April 11. He must also spend two years on probation and complete ethics training.
Sharifi graduated from the University of Colorado and then the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. After a short time at an immigration law firm, he opened the Colorado Law Center out of his northeast Denver home, according to his LinkedIn page.
“Intent on realizing my vision of spearheading a small, niche firm into a thriving practice, I started my own office in 2017,” that LinkedIn page states. “…Our primary focus areas include civil litigation, insurance, business and specialized immigration.”
In 2021, he was hired to handle a divorce case and was paid a $12,500 retainer, according to an agreement between Sharifi and the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, which investigates wrongdoing by lawyers. Their agreement does not name his client.
Sharifi never worked on the divorce case but did help with a property dispute, paying himself from the retainer as he did. He never provided invoices to the client and when she asked for an accounting and refund of her money, he repeatedly delayed for 20 months before eventually returning $2,900. The client does not believe that Sharifi earned the other $9,600.
Armin Sharifi (LinkedIn)
The Office of Attorney Regulation asked that he be suspended for six months for dishonesty, mishandling his client’s property and failing to return her property. The office noted that Sharifi hadn’t been in trouble before, was inexperienced and was very remorseful.
Disciplinary Judge Bryon Large agreed and suspended his license for six months April 11.
A voicemail left on Sharifi’s cell phone was not answered. Neither were calls and emails to his lawyer, Derek Anderson in the Boulder office of Winget Spadafora & Schwartzberg.
Then, on April 17, Sharifi faced more serious allegations in a Denver District Court lawsuit.
ASI Capital, an investment firm in Colorado Springs, said that it hired Sharifi and his Colorado Law Center in 2020 to collect from a man who owed ASI money. Two years later, the man transferred $14,000 to the Colorado Law Center, ending his dispute with ASI.
But Sharifi never told ASI about the payments, according to that company’s lawsuit, and kept the cash for himself. So, ASI is suing him and his former firm for theft, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. It wants the $14,000 and all legal fees that it paid Sharifi.
ASI claims that while he was the company’s lawyer, Sharifi had personal problems that included “attending one or more legal proceedings and conferences while intoxicated.”
Attorney Bill Eikenberry of Jones & Keller, who declined to comment, represents ASI.
Sharifi said on his LinkedIn page that he has moved to California and will take the bar exam there soon. That page calls him “a diligent, team-oriented, methodical attorney.”
