Opinion ID: 1926278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Reardon's Objections to the Board's Final Report

Text: Reardon, through his counsel, has filed objections to the Board's Final Report, contending: (a) the actual or potential injury to his clients was outside his control; (b) the weight given to the aggravating factors was inappropriate; and (c) the Board's recommended sanction of suspension is punitive as applied to Reardon in this case. Specifically, Reardon contends that the Board erred in considering his failure to make restitution to his clients as an aggravating factor. Reardon asserts that his failure to make restitution is not evidence of his indifference but is evidence of the lack of injury caused by his misconduct. With respect to the Atlantic Roofing case, Reardon contends that his client never requested restitution. Reardon further asserts that injury to his client could have been prevented if Wolhar had been candid about the parties' agreement. Reardon appears to argue that the injury to his client was caused ultimately by Wolhar's misconduct and not his own. With respect to Pierce and Miller, Reardon asserts that, with or without his misconduct, Pierce and Miller had no defense to the personal injury claim and would have had judgment entered against them. Accordingly, because there was no injury caused by his misconduct, there was no basis for Pierce and Miller to request restitution or for Reardon to offer it. Thus, Reardon concludes that the Board erred by weighing the actual or potential injury and the lack of restitution to Reardon's clients as an aggravating factor against him. Reardon further argues that the Board erred in concluding that the two instances of misconduct constitute a pattern of neglect. Reardon asserts that the two matters were isolated and distinguishable episodes that happened to coincide in time. In the Atlantic Roofing case, Reardon argues, his misconduct involved his misplaced trust in a fellow member of the Delaware Bar. In the Pierce and Miller case, his misconduct involved his failure to make clear his intention to decline representation. To the extent the Board may have relied upon his prior disciplinary record to infer a pattern of misconduct, Reardon contends that the passage of so many years since his previous discipline eliminates any relationship between the earlier misconduct and the present matters. Absent a genuine pattern of misconduct, Reardon argues, the Board's recommended sanction of suspension is not warranted. Finally, Reardon asserts that, if the intended goal of lawyer discipline is protection of the public  as distinct from a punitive measure  that goal can be accomplished without suspending him. Reardon argues that a public reprimand plus the recommended permanent limitations on his law practice, along with the conditions of his probation including the practice monitor and tax compliance monitor, are more than sufficient mechanisms to ensure that the public is protected from any future misconduct. Any greater penalty, Reardon contends, is simply punitive in nature. Reardon asserts that this case is distinguishable from other cases in which this Court ordered a lawyer's suspension from the practice of law. Reardon asserts that, unlike his case, our prior precedents imposing suspension as a sanction generally involved lawyer misconduct amounting to fraud or misrepresentation or involved misconduct that was persistent and presented a risk of more serious harm. Furthermore, the suspended lawyers did not accept responsibility for their misconduct or show remorse, as Reardon has. Reardon argues that this case is more analogous to our recent decision in In re Solomon, [5] in which a lawyer was found to have engaged in numerous serious acts of misconduct in eight separate cases but received only a public reprimand, probation, and permanent limitations on her law practice.