Opinion ID: 835146
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DR 1-102(A)(4) and RPC 8.4(a)(4)

Text: DR 1-102(A)(4) and RPC 8.4(a)(4) prohibit a lawyer from engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. To establish a violation of those rules, the Bar must show that: (1) the accused lawyer's action or inaction was improper; (2) the accused lawyer's conduct occurred during the course of a judicial proceeding or a proceeding with the trappings of a judicial proceeding; and (3) the accused lawyer's conduct had or could have had a prejudicial effect upon the administration of justice. The administration of justice includes both the procedural functioning of the proceeding and the substantive interests of parties to the proceeding. Prejudice may arise from several acts that cause some harm or a single act that causes substantial harm to the administration of justice. In re Kluge, 335 Or. 326, 345, 66 P.3d 492 (2003) (synthesizing test from In re Haws, 310 Or. 741, 746-48, 801 P.2d 818 (1990)) (citations omitted). [5] Regarding the second element (occurring in the course of a judicial proceeding), the trial panel determined that the accused's conduct, which occurred over almost a three-year period, encompassed three court actions filed in connection with Brown's small estate and trust matters, discovery depositions, the denial of legitimate state priority claims against the estate, and refusals to comply with court orders. Regarding the third element (prejudicial effect), the trial panel's pertinent findings and conclusion included that the accused's conduct (1) forced the Aiellos to hire multiple lawyers and to suffer needless upset, anxiety, and delay in the distribution of Brown's simple estate; (2) the accused's conduct forced the state to initiate costly legal action to obtain payment of a legitimate lien, one that the estate eventually settled; (3) despite a court order, the accused refused to turn over the records of the estate, which then required additional legal action to obtain the accused's compliance; (4) the accused purposely obstructed a discovery deposition of his legal assistant; and (5) the accused refused to distribute the estate because Michael Aiello was unable to be personally present for the distribution, even though the accused had prepared and his office had notarized a special power of attorney for Trudy Brady-Aiello to exercise if Michael Aiello could not be present. [6] As the trial panel concluded, the evidence amply satisfies both the second and third elements. See In re Gresham, 318 Or. 162, 166, 864 P.2d 360 (1993) (probate lawyer engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice when the lawyer took an extended period of time to close an estate and repeatedly failed to do anything to administer the estate, requiring the trial court to make repeated requests for information). The accused does not argue otherwise. As to the first elementimproper or illegal conduct on the accused's partthe trial panel's opinion identifies numerous improper actions and inactions by the accused. Many are set out in the material quoted from the trial panel's opinion above. The accused does not directly take issue with any of those particular facts or conclusions. He does, however, appear to take indirect issue with them. Specifically, in his summary of facts (but not in his questions presented or his substantive arguments), the accused states that Tab 5 of his Exhibit 203 is the solitary document that exculpates [the accused] completely; that it demonstrates his painstaking efforts to distribute the estate; and that it contains [13] specific, documented overtures by [the accused] to resolve the estate long before Judge McElligott intervened to [remove the accused as the personal representative of the estate] in 2004   . At the hearing before the trial panel, the accused similarly testified that Tab 5 was the lynchpin to demonstrate that he acted properly. We have reviewed Tab 5 in full. It consists of 18 documents or parts of documents. A few are undated draft pleadings or stipulations. The remainder are dated and signed letters that the accused sent in 2002, 2003, and 2004, to various individuals in connection with the estate matterindividuals such as the Aiellos, their attorneys, and the attorneys who represented the state on its claim. The accused's only argument as to how those documents exculpate[] the accused completely is that the letters often stated that the accused was willing and able to distribute the estate, and often invited the recipients to contact him or set up meetings for that purpose. The evidence is overwhelming, however, that his words in those letters did not match his conduct. [7] Despite his professed willingness to distribute the estate, the accused took few or no significant steps to facilitate matters. At best, he was frequently passive and waited for others to take the initiative. More often, the accused delayed, frustrated, and even actively interfered with efforts to settle and resolve claims against the estate and distribute the remaining assets to the beneficiaries. The accused's actions and inactions in those regards were improper. Moreover, as the trial panel found, the accused's improper conduct was sufficiently persistent over time as to reflect a disturbing pattern on the accused's part, especially when considered in the context of highly similar past conduct on the accused's part that had resulted in formal discipline. [8] The Bar has proved by clear and convincing evidence that the accused engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, in violation of DR 1-102(A)(4) and RPC 8.4(a)(4).