Opinion ID: 2302531
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 74

Heading: sanctions recommendation

Text: Following issuance of a report dated October 7, 2011, in which the Panel proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and recommended that the Supreme Court find that Respondent violated Rules 1.3, 3.4(c), 5.5(a), 8.1(a), 8.4(a), 8.4(b), 8.4(c), and 8.4(d) of The Delaware Lawyers Rules of Professional Conduct, and Rule 7(c) of the Delaware Lawyers' Rules of Disciplinary Procedure (October 7, 2011 Report), the Panel conducted a sanctions hearing on November 15, 2011 (Sanctions Hearing). At the Sanctions Hearing the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) offered no witnesses. Respondent testified on his own behalf and also proffered the testimony of one character witness, Thomas Conaty, Esq., and Carol Waldhauser of the Lawyers Assistance Program. Thereafter, on December 16, 2011, counsel for the parties submitted briefs reflecting their conflicting positions on the appropriate sanctions. This is the Panel's sanctions recommendation. For the reasons stated below, the Panel recommends that Respondent be disbarred.
The Delaware Supreme Court has set forth the goals of the disciplinary system and the applicable standard: The objectives of the lawyer disciplinary system are to protect the public, to protect the administration of justice, to preserve confidence in the legal profession, and to deter other lawyers from similar misconduct. To further these objectives and to promote consistency and predictability in the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, the Court looks to the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions as a model for determining the appropriate discipline warranted under the circumstances of each case. The ABA framework consists of four key factors to be considered by the Court: (a) the ethical duty violated; (b) the lawyer's mental state; (c) the extent of the actual or potential injury caused by the lawyer's misconduct; and (d) aggravating and mitigating factors. In Re Bailey, 821 A.2d 851, 866 (Del.2003). The Delaware Supreme Court also has emphasized that the purpose of the rules is not to punish lawyers. In Re Reardon, 759 A.2d 568, 575 (Del.2000), citing In Re Benge, 754 A.2d 871, 879 (Del.2000).

The Panel recommended that the Supreme Court find that: 1. Respondent knowingly violated Rule 3.4(c) of the Delaware Lawyers Rules of Professional Conduct by knowingly disobeying a Suspension Order by (a) meeting with a former client to provide legal advice; (b) discussing legal services and fees with a potential client which led her to believe that his residential services company could provide legal services; and (c) using his former law firm email address in communications with the public at least six weeks after the suspension order; and that the aforementioned misconduct also violated Rules 8.4(a) (violate or attempt to violate the Rules) and 8.4(d) (conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice) and Rule 7 of the Delaware Lawyers' Rules of Disciplinary Procedure (Procedural Rules) (disciplinary action appropriate for violation of the Procedural Rules); 2. Respondent knowingly violated Rule 5.5(a) by practicing law in violation of the legal profession in that jurisdiction when he met with a former client to provide legal advice; 3. Respondent violated Rules 1.3 and 8.4(d) by failing to act with reasonable diligence and engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice when he conducted a real estate settlement on November 5, 2008 while under the influence of alcohol; 4. Respondent violated Rules 8.4(b) in reporting false information to a law enforcement officer regarding whether he consumed alcohol before a September 18, 2008 auto accident; 5. Respondent violated Rule 8.4(c) by engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation and violated Rule 8.4(d) by engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice when he consumed alcohol with the intent to prevent the police from performing an alcohol test to ascertain whether he was driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the auto accident; 6. Respondent knowingly made a false statement of material fact in violation of Rule 8.1(a) when he misstated the circumstances of the September 18, 2008 accident and his cooperation with the police investigation; and 7. Respondent's alcohol-related violation on July 19, 2009 reflected an indifference to legal obligation in violation of Rule 8.4(b) when considered in light of his two alcohol-related violations within the prior 15 months. The Panel's recommended findings reflect violations of duties owed to clients, the public, the legal system and the profession. Respondent violated his duties to clients, the legal system and profession when he handled a settlement while under the influence of alcohol and when he met with Mr. Gillespie for the purpose of rendering legal advice while suspended. He violated duties owed the public, legal system and the legal profession when he did not honestly respond to a police officer's question regarding his drinking prior to an accident, when he misstated on his Reinstatement Questionnaire the circumstances of the accident and his cooperation with police, when he acted deliberately to prevent the police from performing a sobriety test, [127] and when he committed another legal violation while under the influence of alcohol in a public park. These are all acts of misconduct that reflect a failure to maintain standards of personal integrity upon which the community relies. Finally, he violated duties owed the public, the legal system and the profession when he mistakenly advised a potential client of Redwood's capacity to provide legal services and failed to eliminate email references to his former firm in communications by his office with the public six weeks after he was suspended in violation of the Suspension Order.