Opinion ID: 835309
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: reinstatement standards

Text: BR 8.1 requires that an applicant make the following showings: (b) Required Showing. Each applicant under this rule must show that the applicant has good moral character and general fitness to practice law and that the resumption of the practice of law in this state by the applicant will not be detrimental to the administration of justice or the public interest. No applicant shall resume the practice of law in this state or active membership status unless all the requirements of this rule are met. (c) Learning and Ability. In addition to the showing required in BR 8.1(b), each applicant under this rule who has remained in a suspended or resigned status for more than three years or has been enrolled voluntarily or involuntarily as an inactive member for more than five years must show that the applicant has the requisite learning and ability to practice law in this state. The Bar has the initial burden to provide evidence that the applicant should not be readmitted to the practice of law. BR 8.13. Applicant stipulated prior to the trial panel hearing that the Bar had come forth with sufficient evidence to meet that burden. Accordingly, under BR 8.12, applicant bore the following burden of proof: An applicant for reinstatement to the practice of law in Oregon shall have the burden of establishing by clear and convincing evidence that the applicant has the requisite good moral character and general fitness to practice law and that the applicant's resumption of the practice of law in this state will not be detrimental to the administration of justice or the public interest. Clear and convincing evidence means that the truth of the facts asserted is highly probable. In re Johnson, 300 Or. 52, 55, 707 P.2d 573 (1985) (quoting Supove et al. v. Densmoor et ux., 225 Or. 365, 372, 358 P.2d 510 (1961)) (internal quotation marks omitted). With respect to good moral character, applicant must prove that he is in all respects    a person who possesses the sense of ethical responsibility and the maturity of character to withstand the many temptations which [he] will confront in the practice of law. In re Nash, 317 Or. 354, 362, 855 P.2d 1112 (1993) (internal quotation marks omitted; emphasis in original). This court's concern is whether applicant presently is of good moral character. In re Griffith, 323 Or. 99, 106, 913 P.2d 695 (1996). However, evidence of past conduct may be relevant to that issue if rationally connected to applicant's fitness to practice law. In re Fine, 303 Or. 314, 317, 736 P.2d 183 (1987). This court addresses an analogous question concerning a lawyer's past misconduct when it considers the possible reinstatement of a lawyer following disbarment. This court has held that an attorney who seeks reinstatement after disbarment must prove that he or she has overcome and will not again be influenced by the specific character flaw that led to disbarment. Griffith, 323 Or. at 106, 913 P.2d 695. In this case, applicant has not been disbarred; applicant voluntarily resigned from the bar in 2001. Nonetheless, the Bar submits that the same standard applies when a lawyer seeks reinstatement after engaging in conduct sufficiently serious to warrant disbarment, and that applicant's past conduct meets that criterion. Applicant does not appear to disagree with that analysis. Accordingly, we focus our inquiry on reformation. Id.