Montalto

Petitioner seeks review of a recommendation of disbarment by the Disciplinary Board of the State Bar. Admitted to practice in 1962, she has no prior disciplinary record.

In October 1972, formal proceedings were instituted against petitioner as a result of her conduct in three cases arising in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.

*233 In the first case (McNeil) petitioner was retained by Mr. McNeil in January 1965 to handle a personal injury claim. 1 After approximately six months, petitioner negotiated a settlement with the defendant’s insurer, who mailed petitioner a check in the amount of $1,250 payable to “Bruce K. McNeil and his attorney, Agnes M. Montalto.” On receipt of the check, petitioner deposited it, endorsed with her signature and the purported signature of her client, in a trust account she maintained for her clients. She did not notify McNeil of the payment. The trust account, often overdrawn, was finally closed in July 1971.

After negotiating the settlement, petitioner met with McNeil and persuaded him to execute a release of his claim, advising him several months would elapse before he could expect payment. Thereafter McNeil’s attempts to reach petitioner…