Opinion ID: 852007
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Paragraph 41: The Three-Year Period

Text: The Commission alleged in Paragraph 41 of its verified petition that Farmer engaged in the unauthorized practice of law when he provided post-conviction legal services to Ivy for a period of approximately three years without being admitted to practice law in Indiana. That paragraph does not specify exactly to which three-year period the Commission is referring. However, it may be gleaned from the other parts of the verified petition and from the Commission’s brief that the Commission is referring to the roughly three-year period between the Engagement Agreement and the beginning of the Ohio suspension.4 4 See Relator’s Br. at 4 (“For three years, from October 2003 to October 2006, [Farmer] provided legal services to Ivy relating to his pending post-conviction relief matter[.]”); see also Pet. at 2 (“In or about October 2003, . . . the Ivys . . . retained Farmer to review the record in Ivy’s case and attempt to find evidence to support legal claims to help Ivy.”). At oral argument, the Commission stated that Farmer engaged in unauthorized practice of law in Indiana before, during, and after his Ohio suspension, but it does not appear that unauthorized practice after his Ohio suspension was charged specifically in the verified petition. See Pet. at 5. In any event, the Court’s analysis for the period after the suspension would not differ materially from the analysis for the three-year period before his Ohio suspension. 6 The Commission claimed that Farmer’s conduct before his suspension amounted to unauthorized practice of law because he did not apply to be admitted on a temporary basis under Indiana Admission and Discipline Rule 3(2) and he was not otherwise authorized to practice law under the standard set out in Indiana Rule of Professional Conduct 5.5(c)(2). The latter rule provides: (c) A lawyer admitted in another United States jurisdiction, and not disbarred or suspended from practice in any jurisdiction, may provide legal services on a temporary basis in this jurisdiction that: . . . . (2) are in or reasonably related to a pending or potential proceeding before a tribunal in this or another jurisdiction, if the lawyer, or a person the lawyer is assisting, is authorized by law or order to appear in such proceeding or reasonably expects to be so authorized[.] Prof. Cond. R. 5.5(c)(2) (West 2012) (emphasis added).5 The accompanying commentary restates the rule and provides a few illustrative examples of permissible conduct: Paragraph (c)(2) . . . provides that a lawyer rendering services in this jurisdiction on a temporary basis does not violate this Rule when the lawyer engages in conduct in anticipation of a proceeding or hearing in a jurisdiction in which the lawyer is authorized to practice law or in which the lawyer reasonably expects to be admitted pro hac vice. Examples of such conduct include meetings with the client, interviews of potential witnesses, and the review of documents. . . . . Prof. Cond. R. 5.5(c)(2), cmt. 10. The Commission contends that Professional Conduct Rule 5.5(c)(2) does not authorize Farmer’s conduct because providing legal services for three years is not “temporary.” “Services may be ‘temporary’ even though the lawyer provides services in this jurisdiction on a recurring basis, or for an extended period of time, as when the lawyer is representing a client in a single lengthy negotiation or litigation.” Prof. Cond. R. 5.5(c)(2), cmt. 6; see American Bar Association, Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 5.5, at 465 (6th ed. 2007) 5 This language was added to Professional Conduct Rule 5.5 by an order dated September 30, 2004, became effective January 1, 2005, and amended the language of the earlier version of the Rule 5.5. Because the Commission and Farmer both invite the Court to analyze Farmer’s conduct under the standard set out in the language of this current version of the rule, the Court does so here. 7 (commenting that Rule 5.5 does not specify the number of visits a lawyer may make to another jurisdiction or any other bright-line test to determine when a lawyer’s presence is “‘temporary’ rather than permanent” and noting that a report to the House of Delegates stated that application of the rule’s standards “leaves room for individual opinion and judicial interpretation.”). Here, the charged conduct of Farmer involves occasional visits to Indiana for a single client in a single legal matter, not multiple matters or clients or any systematic or continuous presence in Indiana. Under these circumstances, the Court concludes that the Commission has failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Farmer’s provision of legal service to Ivy was more than “temporary.” The Commission’s other argument with regard to this phase is that Farmer could not have reasonably expected to be authorized to appear in Ivy’s post-conviction case because, at least beginning in December 2004, “Farmer had no reasonable belief that he could gain temporary admission to practice in the State of Indiana due to a pending disciplinary proceeding in Ohio.” (Pet. at 5; see Relator’s Br. at 8.) This argument, too, fails. A temporary admission of an out-of-state lawyer pursuant to Admission and Discipline Rule 3(2) is within the discretion of the trial court. Matter of Fieger, 887 N.E.2d 87, 90 (Ind. 2008). Nothing in this temporary admission rule per se disqualified Farmer from seeking admission in Ivy’s post-conviction case simply because a disciplinary proceeding was pending against Farmer in Ohio. See Admis. Disc. Rule 3(2)(a)(4)(v) (listing requirements for seeking temporary admission to appear in an Indiana case or proceeding, including stating “[t]hat no disciplinary proceeding is presently pending against the attorney in any jurisdiction; or, if any proceeding is pending, the petition shall specify the jurisdiction, the charges and the address of the disciplinary authority investigating the charges.” (emphasis added)). Here, Farmer testified that he understood Admission and Discipline Rule 3(2) to mean that a pending disciplinary complaint in Ohio would not have precluded him from seeking, or an Indiana court from granting, temporary admission. (Tr. at 310.) Other evidence showed that 8 Farmer had been admitted to practice law in Ohio in 1999. He had been admitted on a temporary basis in another Indiana case fairly recently, in 2002-03. In the present proceeding, a federal judge and an attorney in Ohio who testified regarding Farmer’s good character and competence as an attorney stated that they would have provided an affidavit supporting Farmer’s request for temporary admission in Indiana if he had made one before or after his Ohio suspension. Under these circumstances and in light of the discretion exercised by trial courts in ruling on motions for temporary admission under Admission and Discipline Rule 3(2), the Court concludes that the Commission has failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that, due to the pending disciplinary proceeding in Ohio, Farmer could not have reasonably expected to be authorized to appear in Ivy’s post-conviction case at some time in the future.