Opinion ID: 2071683
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Elmer Klein

Text: This charge also emanated from a failure to appear. Klein was charged with an alcohol-related offense. As this was a second offense, Klein prayed a jury trial, which was scheduled to take place in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, before Judge Robert Heller, at 9:30 a.m. on February 21, 1990. Three lawyers from Ficker's officeFicker and associates Stephen Allen and Denise Banjavic-entered their appearances. By the time of trial, Banjavic had left Ficker's employ. When the case was called, no one from Ficker's office was present. Someone on Judge Heller's staff called Ficker's office and spoke to Burfield, who advised that Ficker was in District Court in Frederick and that he (Burfield) had informed the circuit court that Ficker would be late and should arrive around 11:00. When Ficker did not arrive by 11:00, another call was made. Burfield reported that Ficker was still in Frederick, but that another lawyer would be dispatched. Around noon, Mr. McClellan, appeared. McClellan said that he had been in court in Prince George's County, that he had never met Mr. Klein, did not have a file, and knew nothing about the case. After a break for lunch, Klein told Judge Heller that he wanted to proceed with Mr. McClellan. As part of an apparent plea bargain, Klein pled guilty to driving under the influence, in return for which the prosecutor nol prossed the more serious charge of driving while intoxicated. Klein was sentenced to 60 days in jail, which was suspended in favor of probation and a fine. Later in the afternoon, Judge Heller spoke with Ficker, who said that he had three cases in Frederick County and, according to Judge Heller, seemed cavalier about the entire matter. Ficker testified that he apologized to Judge Heller. As a result of Judge Heller's complaint, Ficker was charged with violating MLRPC Rules 1.3 (reasonable diligence), 3.4(c) (knowingly disobeying an obligation under the rules of a tribunal), 5.1 (supervising lawyers in the firm), and 8.4(d) (conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice). There was a great deal of evidence taken with respect to the Klein case. Ficker had no recollection of assigning the case. He stated that on the schedule for February 21, 1990 were three cases in Frederick, several people to be met in Frederick (including two prospective clients), three clients to be met in Rockville, a proceeding identified only as an NBA in Rockville, [3] a case in Rockville, three matters in Prince George's County, and the Klein case in Annapolis. It is evident that Ficker handled the matters in Frederick. McClellan was assigned to the cases in Upper Marlboro. Allen was sent to District Court in Hyattsville to obtain a continuance in a case. He claimed that he was not assigned the Klein casethat no one was although he said that he may have driven to Annapolis on February 20 to file a request for postponement in that case. This was one of those cases, he said, that the first lawyer who finished his morning docket would handle. He called the office after completing his assignment in Hyattsville and Burfield told him that McClellan had been sent to Annapolis. There was other evidence that Allen was, in fact, assigned the case but thought it had been postponed. There was no evidence that he had the file with him on February 21. From all of the evidence presented, Judge Ferretti found that Allen was, in fact, assigned the Klein case and that, as a result, AGC's charges were unfounded. Because the case was assigned to Allen, and because Ficker did nothing to ratify Allen's failure to appear, the judge found no violation of MLRPC Rule 5.1. Nor, he continued, did Allen's failure to appear constitute a violation by Ficker of Rule 1.3 (acting with reasonable diligence), Rule 3.4 (knowingly disobeying an obligation owed to a tribunal), or Rule 8.4 (conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice). The underlying basis of his conclusions was that Allen's failure to appear was not the product of any conduct by Ficker personally or the result of procedures that he put in place. AGC has excepted to those findings and conclusions. As to Rule 5.1, it argues that the court reached inconsistent conclusions. In the Jordan case, discussed above, which involved a failure to appear in the Circuit Court for Frederick County on March 6, 1990, Judge Ferretti found that the failure arose from the lack of any procedure designed to avoid such lapses, and AGC maintains that the same finding should be made with respect to the Klein case. Such a finding, it continues, would establish a violation of Rules 3.4 and 8.4 as well. More specifically, it contends that the evidence showed that Ficker did not assign the case to Allen in a timely and proper manner. Klein was a serious casea third offender to be tried before a juryand neither Allen nor McClellan were prepared to try it. We shall deny AGC's exceptions with respect to Rules 1.3., 3.4, and 8.4, but shall sustain the exception as to Rule 5.1. On the evidence before him, Judge Ferretti's finding that the Klein case had been assigned to Mr. Allen was not clearly erroneous. It was, therefore, Allen's responsibility to be present. Ficker in no way ratified Allen's failure to appear. He did not fail to act with reasonable diligence or to obey an obligation owed to the circuit court, and he therefore did not engage in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. We do not agree, however, that there was no violation of Rule 5.1. Section (b) of that rule requires a lawyer having supervisory authority over another lawyer to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the other lawyer conforms to the rules of professional conduct, and section (c) makes the supervisory lawyer responsible for the subordinate's violation if the supervising lawyer knows of the conduct at a time when its consequences can be avoided or mitigated but failed to take reasonable remedial action. As AGC points out, the Klein case cannot be viewed in a vacuum. Although what happened here is somewhat different from what occurred in Jordan, the two cases, together, demonstrate the gross deficiencies in Ficker's operation, deficiencies that almost guaranteed both kinds of problems. In Jordan, the problem was in assigning cases at the last minute to a novice attorney not capable, under the circumstances, of providing competent representation. Here, the problem was in assigning too many cases to too few lawyers, mostly at the last minute. Accepting Judge Ferretti's finding that the case was, in fact, assigned to Allen, it becomes evident that Allen was scheduled by Ficker to be in two courts, in different counties, at the same time. When the problem was brought to the attention of Burfieldthe person authorized by Ficker to deal with itit was resolved by sending over to try the case a lawyer who knew nothing about the case, whose appearance had not even been entered, who had not ever met the client, and who did not even have the file. However bright and experienced the lawyer may be, that kind of system is not conducive to providing competent representation. When imposing it on young, inexperienced lawyers, the problem becomes exponentially worse. Ficker essentially operated his practice like a taxicab company, with Williams or Burfield as the dispatcher. What he apparently, and inexcusably, failed to realize is that, while perhaps any competent taxi driver can transport a passenger from one point to another on a moment's notice, legal services cannot routinely be dispensed on that basis with an acceptable degree of competence. As the direct result of Ficker's practices, not only was the court inconvenienced but Klein was faced with the unacceptable prospect of either falling on his sword or going to trial with a lawyer he never hired and who knew little or nothing about his case.