Opinion ID: 2558572
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 35

Heading: Respondent's Employment

Text: On March 27, 2003, Respondent appeared under oath before a duly convened subcommittee hearing of the District of Columbia City Council. During that hearing, she engaged in a colloquy with then-chairman, Councilman Vincent Orange, part of which concerned whether she had outside employment in violation of her terms of employment with OHR. That colloquy is one basis of the Rule 8.4(b) violation charged by Bar Counsel. After reviewing both the video of the hearing and the actual transcript, the Committee notes that the dialogue between the Respondent and the Councilman was remarkable for its brevity and its vagueness. Chairman Orange asked in a conclusory manner, after discussing the OIG's conduct in questioning the managing partner of the alleged outside employer: [h]owever, you only worked for the D.C. Government during that time? In response, she replied [t]hat was it. See BX 30 at 14-15. This question was reasonably understood as asking whether Respondent had been concurrently employed anywhere else while working for the D.C. Government. Moreover, in his testimony before the Committee, Chairman Orange stated that he knew the Respondent personally, but I am not aware of her working for the D.C. Government and at the same time having full-time employment as an attorney with someone else. Tr. at 1445-46. The OIG closed its investigation after being advised by a partner at the firm at which Respondent was accused of working that Respondent had not been employed there for a number of years. Tr. at 784-85, 789-90, 843. While the evidence shows that Respondent made several court appearances on behalf of third parties, see BX 31 and 32, and may also have received some compensation for one or more of those appearances, the Committee does not find that this activity necessarily rises to the level of employment that was referenced at the Counsel hearing. Thus, Bar Counsel has not shown by clear and convincing evidence that Respondent would have known that her answer to Chairman Orange's question was false and therefore has not established a violation of Rule 8.4(b) for her testimony regarding outside employment.