Opinion ID: 1926090
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: client e.b.counts 6-8

Text: [4] ¶ 23. The OLR complaint alleged that in March 1998 Cavendish-Sosinski was appointed by the state public defender (SPD) to represent E.B. in a postconviction criminal matter. Between April 1998 and January 1999 the respondent failed to meet with E.B. even though she had repeatedly promised she would do so once she had obtained his court file and other information and documents. Cavendish-Sosinski later scheduled a personal meeting with E.B. for January 1999 but then cancelled it, citing the need for more information. ¶ 24. Although Cavendish-Sosinski had written to E.B. 11 times after her appointment in March 1998 to April 27, 2000, most of those letters were in direct response to the state public defender's demands that she write to E.B. On May 10, 2000, in response to one of those SPD demands, Cavendish-Sosinski had an hour-long telephone conference with E.B. That was the first and only time she ever talked with E.B. ¶ 25. Between January 2001 and August 2001 the SPD's office wrote several messages to and left several telephone messages for Cavendish-Sosinski; however, she called back only once and then only left a message. In August 2001 the SPD's office wrote to Cavendish-Sosinski informing her that she was being replaced in the E.B. matter, that steps were being taken to decertify her from further SPD appellate appointments and that the matter would be referred to the OLR. E.B. had, however, in June 2001 already filed his own grievance with the OLR concerning Cavendish-Sosinski. After E.B.'s grievance, the OLR wrote to Cavendish-Sosinski three times asking her to respond and supply information about the situation. She did not respond until she had been personally served with the OLR's fourth letter requesting information. In her response to that fourth request, Cavendish-Sosinski admitted that her representation in the E.B. matter had been lax; she explained that she had been suffering from depression. ¶ 26. E.B.'s grievance was subsequently referred to the OLR's district committee for investigation. The district's investigator wrote to Cavendish-Sosinski on May 23, 2002, and again on June 5, 2002, requesting that she contact him. In addition, on May 29, 2002, the investigator attempted to contact her by telephone. Again, Cavendish-Sosinski did not respond to the letters or phone call, and did not cooperate with the district committee's investigation until after she had been personally served with a notice to appear. ¶ 27. Based on this course of conduct, the referee concluded that the respondent had committed the violations as alleged in Counts 6, 7, and 8 of the OLR complaint. Specifically, the referee concluded that Cavendish-Sosinski's conduct constituted a failure to act with reasonable diligence and promptness, in violation of SCR 20:1.3; a failure to promptly respond to reasonable requests for information, in violation of SCR 20:1.4(a); and a failure to cooperate with an OLR investigation and a district committee's request for information, in violation of SCR 22.03(2) and 22.04(1).