Opinion ID: 1842903
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Charge of Solicitation: DR 2-103(A)(1) and DR 2-105(A)(1)

Text: Goldthwaite was charged and convicted of soliciting his employment as attorney for Alabama National Bank of Montgomery in the Estate of William Pelzer Arrington. The charge stems from a conversation between Goldthwaite and Louie H. Moore, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of the Alabama National Bank. Shortly before Arrington's death, Goldthwaite went to see Moore and informed him that Arrington was dying. Goldthwaite testified he advised Moore, I don't know if there is a will whether the bank will be named executor ... if you need an attorney I'm Billy's first cousin and bear me in mind. Testimony at the disciplinary hearing established that Goldthwaite and Arrington were also close friends and had been since just after the end of World War II. Additional testimony revealed the following facts. Arrington's maternal grandfather, who died in 1931, was William K. Pelzer, one of the founders of the Alabama National Bank and a majority stockholder in it. He also was a big stockholder in the Durr Drug Company. Archie Arrington was the father of William Pelzer Arrington, and was Goldthwaite's guardian. Goldthwaite was born and reared in the Goldthwaite-Arrington home in Montgomery. Archie Arrington totally supported Goldthwaite while he was growing up. Relatives of Goldthwaite and the Arringtons had a close and often interwoven relationship with the Alabama National Bank and the Durr Drug Company. Goldthwaite testified that he was the only male in his family who was not on the payroll of either one. Louie H. Moore acknowledged at the disciplinary hearing that he and Goldthwaite were close friends and that he was a former attorney for the Alabama National Bank and a good customer of it. [1] Goldthwaite also testified to his close relationship with the Alabama National Bank. He explained that while he was Montgomery County Attorney he resisted an attempt to move the county's account away from the Alabama National Bank. Goldthwaite further related that he had sent clients to the bank and had chosen it for the purpose of closing business transactions and Farmers Home Administration loans. Goldthwaite recalled that when he was nine years old, the president of the Alabama National Bank showed him how to fill out a deposit slip. At the time of Goldthwaite's conversation with Moore, he was aware of the fact that the Montgomery law firm of Jones, Murray, Stewart and Yarbrough was employed by the Alabama National Bank on a regular retainer basis. The starting point for our inquiry into whether Goldthwaite is guilty of solicitation begins with an examination of the relationship between DR 2-103(A)(1) and DR 2-105(A)(1). The rule against solicitation is contained in the provisions of DR 2-103. DR 2-103(A)(1) provides: (A) A lawyer shall not: (1) Solicit his employment or professional employment or engagement of another whose partner he is, or from whose employment there is an expectation of profit or benefit, directly or indirectly, to himself. Exceptions to the proscription against solicitation are contained in DR 2-105. DR 2-105(A)(1) provides: (A) A lawyer who has given unsolicited advice to a layman that he should obtain counsel or take legal action shall not accept employment resulting from that advice, except that: (1) A lawyer may accept employment by a close friend, relative, former client (if the advice is germane to the former employment), or one whom the lawyer reasonably believes to be a client. Goldthwaite contends that DR 2-105(A)(1) operates to modify DR 2-103(A)(1) so that, within the provisions of DR 2-105(A)(1), an attorney may suggest his employment to a close friend, relative, or former client, without being guilty of solicitation. The Bar, however, argues that DR 2-105(A)(1) permits an attorney to give unsolicited advice to anyone, but that he may accept employment resulting from such unsolicited advice to a close friend, relative or former client only when such advice was given to prevent a miscarriage of justice or irreparable harm. We find the Bar's argument untenable and we agree with Goldthwaite. The Bar correctly notes that the rule against solicitation should be enforced strictly. Dodd v. Board of Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar, 365 So.2d 975 (Ala.1979); See Ex parte Newton, 265 Ala. 650, 93 So.2d 164 (1957). However, we find that the very wording of DR 2-105(A)(1) creates exceptions to the general proscription against solicitation in the cases of a close friend, relative, former client (if the advice is germane to the former employment), or one whom the lawyer reasonably believes to be a client. The restrictive interpretation that the Bar urges we place on DR 2-105(A)(1) conflicts with the clear intent of that disciplinary rule, and is inharmonious with the fundamental nature of the relationships listed as exceptions to the proscription against solicitation. We perceive a valid distinction between those coming within any of the categories listed as exceptions in DR 2-105(A)(1) and other laymen. In the case of a close friend, relative, [or] former client, such an individual is less likely to be the subject of unethical practices or pressures. Presumably such an individual knows the competence and integrity of the advising attorney and can better evaluate the propriety of employing him than can laymen who are not within those categories. Additionally, the exceptions provided by the rule allow an attorney's conduct to comport with the demands of the relationships involved in the cases of close friends and relatives, and with the propriety of fulfilling one's professional role in the cases of former clients and those reasonably believed to be clients. Reason, therefore, compels us to conclude that the exceptions provided in DR 2-105(A)(1), are a modification of DR 2-103(A)(1), and that the operation of DR 2-105(A)(1) is not dependent upon exceptional circumstances necessitating that an attorney offer unsolicited advice, and accept employment therefrom, only in situations manifesting a miscarriage of justice or irreparable harm. This does not mean that an attorney may engage in conduct that is champertous or otherwise unethical. Nevertheless, it does mean that DR 2-105(A)(1) means what it clearly says in that an attorney may accept employment from unsolicited advice to anyone within one of the designated categories in that rule. Our next inquiry is: Did Goldthwaite come within one of the exceptions to DR 2-103(A)(1) as provided in DR 2-105(A)(1)? We hold that he did. We have reviewed the evidence and arguments supporting both sides and conclude that the evidence overwhelmingly places Goldthwaite's action within the scope of DR 2-105(A)(1). Goldthwaite's action whereby he suggested his employment to Moore can be sanctioned in a number of ways. It is undisputed that Goldthwaite and Moore were close friends, as reflected in their testimony. Moore testified that he was not offended by Goldthwaite's suggestion that the bank employ him as the attorney for Arrington's estate, and that he did not feel his privacy had been invaded by Goldthwaite's suggestion. That certainly is consistent with a close friendship between the two. We observe also that Goldthwaite could be described as a close friend of the Alabama National Bank. (Moore, in fact, testified that the bank considered Goldthwaite a friend.) His personal efforts on behalf of the bank, the fact that he previously represented it, and his family's connection with it, dictate that we view Goldthwaite's request to the bank (through Moore) for employment differently than if the request were made by a stranger to that entity. Goldthwaite's request for employment, therefore, could be justified within the scope of DR 2-105(A)(1) by viewing that request as one made to the Alabama National Bank. Lastly, although not coming within the scope of DR 2-105(A)(1), Goldthwaite's request for employment if viewed as motivated by a desire to help the estate of his dying cousin might also provide an independent defense to the charge of solicitation. At the time of Goldthwaite's conversation with Moore, Goldthwaite already was representing Arrington on other matters. Goldthwaite and Arrington had been close friends for a long time. The record reflects the fact that Goldthwaite was concerned about Arrington's impending death, and had several conversations with Moore regarding it. The record discloses that Goldthwaite and Moore had several conversations in which Goldthwaite indicated his desire to move Arrington to another hospital during his last illness. Arrington had named the Alabama National Bank as executor under his will. He designated Goldthwaite as his alternative choice for an attorney to assist the bank in carrying out its duties under his will. As it turned out, Arrington's first choice for an attorney predeceased him. Goldthwaite's designation as attorney for the estate was unknown to him until after Arrington's death. Considered in their entirety, the above facts do not show prohibited solicitation in Goldthwaite's actions.