The disciplinary action stems from Cobb's representation of Jennifer Randall in a 2024 debt collection case filed by Discover Bank seeking $2,595.85. The Board of Professional Responsibility found that Cobb violated multiple professional conduct rules, including competence, diligence, client communication, and engaging in conduct involving dishonesty and misrepresentation.
According to the Board's detailed report, Cobb failed to timely file court documents, missed deadlines, and crucially misled Randall about settlement negotiations. When opposing counsel indicated that Discover Bank would consider a lower lump-sum settlement if Randall provided financial hardship information, Cobb told his client the offer had been 'apparently rejected' without conveying the option to submit additional documentation. As the Board noted, 'Respondent's violations of Rule 8.4(c) seriously adversely reflect on his fitness to practice law.'
The most damaging finding involved Cobb's handling of settlement negotiations in April 2025. After opposing counsel Amanda Lee explicitly stated that a $1,500 lump sum could be considered with proper hardship documentation, Cobb told Randall the offer was rejected and pushed her toward monthly payments instead. The Board found this constituted a misrepresentation that 'caused significant emotional distress for Ms. Randall,' who was dealing with her husband's job loss and her own medical issues.
The case began when Randall contacted Cobb in December 2024 after being served with the debt collection lawsuit. Despite forming an attorney-client relationship on December 17, 2024, Cobb failed to file a timely answer by the December 31 deadline, forcing Randall to appear pro se at initial hearings. The Board found that Cobb's assistant eventually filed a pro se answer on January 10, 2025, without properly entering an appearance for the firm.
Randall ultimately fired Cobb in May 2025 after discovering the misrepresentations about settlement options. In a scathing termination letter, she cited 'failure to timely file with the court,' 'repeated delegation of legal duties to me,' and 'misrepresentation of settlement options.' The Board noted that Cobb's response included further misstatements, including citing a non-existent Wyoming statute and claiming that remote hearings were not available in Wyoming courts in December 2024, when they had been implemented by 2021.
The suspension order requires Cobb to comply with Wyoming Rules of Disciplinary Procedure during his suspension and pay $800 in costs and administrative fees by April 17, 2026. As Chief Justice Boomgaarden ordered, 'Kent C. Cobb shall be suspended from the practice of law for three months, with the period of suspension to begin April 8, 2026.'
The Board noted several mitigating factors in recommending only a three-month suspension rather than a longer penalty, including Cobb's lack of prior disciplinary history, his cooperation in resolving the matter, and his payment of Randall's debt to Discover Bank out of his own pocket. The Board also credited his 'sincere remorse,' apology letter to Randall, and $1,000 donation to Wyoming Legal Aid.