Opinion ID: 1984112
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: DLRPC 1.3 and 5.3

Text: DLRPC 1.3 requires that lawyers act in a diligent fashion when representing clients. The record reflects that the Pattersons discussed their situation with Rassman in February 1992 and that Rassman filed the Petition shortly thereafter. Mekler did not look at the Pattersons' file until July 1992, a period of about five months. When he finally did review the file in July, he told the Pattersons that the course of action Rassman had implemented was incorrect. The Board found that the five-month period between the filing of the Petition and Mekler's review of the Patterson file was evidence of a lack of diligence. Mekler claims that, because he did not miss a deadline before the Family Court, his delay in reviewing the Pattersons' file was reasonable under the circumstances. Mekler's argument is unpersuasive. As the Board noted in its well-reasoned report, although the Pattersons failed to give Mekler's office accurate information at their initial consultation, a prompt review of the Court records by Mekler would have revealed [the weakness of the Pattersons' claim] and there appears to be no excuse for not discovering these facts from the Court records prior to July of 1992, approximately five months after the initial consultation. Report at 12-13 (Mar. 16, 1995). Mekler's delay in reviewing the Pattersons' file caused this matter to drag on unnecessarily for five months. The Board's finding that Mekler violated DLRPC 1.3 is supported by substantial evidence. DLRPC 5.3 requires that a lawyer supervise his or her staff to ensure that the staff's actions and work product conform to ethical and legal standards. In this case, LePore testified that Rassman, rather than Mekler, signed the Pattersons' Petition and that she falsely notarized it. LePore also testified that Mekler gave her direct authority to sign his name. Mekler argues that: (1) due to personal problems between Mekler and LePore, LePore might have purposefully misled the Board during testimony; and (2) he had specifically informed his staff prior to the Patterson incident not to sign his name to court documents. Although Mekler and LePore may have had personal problems, there is nothing to indicate that she did not testify truthfully before the Board. Further, LePore testified that, despite Mekler's warning to his staff not to sign his name to court documents, he told her that she nonetheless had authority to do so. Although Mekler was required to make only a reasonable effort to ensure that his staff conformed to professional guidelines, it appears that his behavior did not conform to this requirement. Therefore, the Board did not err when it found that LePore's and Rassman's signing of Mekler's name to two documents filed with the Family Court showed that Mekler did not satisfy DLRPC 5.3 in supervising his staff.