Opinion ID: 4094408
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: mitigation, enhancement and discipline

Text: ¶19 Friesen maintains as his defense that he was unaware of a problem until the Nevarezes sued him. He claims he was waiting on information from the Nevarezes in order to set up the college accounts. Friesen presented lawyer witnesses who testified favorably concerning his competency and ethics. The OBA General Counsel mentioned he was a good lawyer in her closing statement. Friesen offered as mitigation the fact he stipulated to the violation of Rule 1.15 ORPC, he has revised his contracts so they are no longer non-refundable and he understands he must place all advanced fees into his trust account. In addition, Friesen asserted he paid the Nevarezes the full $97,438.00 and their costs incurred in the settlement prior to the bar complaint. ¶20 In fashioning the degree of discipline imposed for misconduct, this Court shall consider prior misconduct. Rule 1.7 RGDP. The record reflects Friesen has been disciplined twice. The OBA alleged Friesen was previously suspended for a period of approximately seven months after a conviction for willful failure to pay taxes. State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Friesen, 2015 OK 34, 350 P.3d 1269. He also received a private reprimand from the Professional Responsibility Commission in 2009. The private reprimand was based on Friesen's misdemeanor plea of guilty for failing to maintain a required acquisition and disposition log for the purchase and sale of firearms. Although neither disciplinary action directly involved clients, his actions bring discredit to the legal profession. ¶21 This Court's responsibility in disciplinary proceedings is not to punish the offending lawyer; the purpose of discipline is to protect the public, preserve the integrity of the bar and deter similar misconduct. State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Beasley , 2006 OK 49, ¶34, 142 P.3d 410. In determining appropriate discipline it is proper to compare the matter at hand with previous disciplinary matters. State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Doris, 1999 OK 94, ¶38, 991 P.2d 1015. However, this Court has recognized the extent of discipline must be decided on a case-by-case basis because each situation will usually involve different transgressions and different mitigating circumstances. Doris , 1999 OK 94 at ¶38. ¶22 We have imposed a wide range of discipline in matters where the lawyer did not earn an advance fee or failed to return it and where a lawyer has failed to communicate and diligently represent a client. Like the case before us, our previous cases dealt with many rule violations. In State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Perkins, 1988 OK 65, 757 P.2d 825 , failure to promptly repay client funds upon request coupled with other misuses of client's funds without mitigating circumstances warranted disbarment. In State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Wright , 1997 OK 119, 957 P.2d 1174, a lawyer who was negligent in performing work and was not diligent and prompt in performing services for which he was paid in advance by some nine clients, received a suspension for two years and one day. In State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Sheridan , 2003 OK 80, 84 P.3d 710, a lawyer was suspended for six months for neglect and lack of diligence in communicating with clients, handling client's money, communicating with the bar association and refusing to return a retainer. In State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Whitely , 1990 OK 46, 792 P.2d 1174, a lawyer received a public censure for failing to act with reasonable diligence, keeping a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter, failing to comply with reasonable requests for information, and taking an unreasonable fee. ¶23 The OBA recommends this Court follow the discipline in Whitely and publicly censure Friesen. The Trial Panel recommends Friesen be suspended from the practice of law for one year. The second attorney-client agreement was especially disturbing to the Trial Panel. It found that at the time this agreement was executed Friesen was in severe economic distress. He owed back taxes for many years prior to the agreement which culminated into a federal conviction in 2014. State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Friesen , 2015 OK 34, 350 P.3d 1269. Friesen testified he initially had the wrongful death settlement proceeds placed in Lana Cohlmia's trust account because he was worried the Oklahoma Tax Commission might garnish his trust account. The Trial Panel was also astounded that Friesen would fashion an agreement that included provisions for the Nevarezes to pay up-front for services that would only be performed some fifteen years in the future. Their conclusion was the agreement was motivated by Friesen's own interests rather than the best interests of the Nevarezes. ¶24 The record reflects the second attorney-client agreement was not understood; a fact that should have been clear to Friesen during the two and one-half years Alma Nevarez attempted to find out what happened to the $97,438.00. The Nevarezes never received what they bargained for, diligent representation to establish the college accounts. They not only lost years of earnings on these college accounts but also suffered emotional stress and damage to their relationship. These issues were not hidden from Friesen. Instead of taking the initiative to inform the Nevarezes that they were mistaken about the $97,438.00 and risk having to return any unearned fees, he kept towing them along indefinitely. When Dowell requested Friesen to return any unearned fees Friesen testified he refused because he did not like the insinuation he stole from his clients. Friesen's response did not explain the fee arrangement in the second attorney client agreement. Alma testified she never received a copy of the agreement; therefore she was unable to give Dowell a copy. It was not until Friesen was sued that he returned the $97,438.00 some four months later. Friesen claims in his brief that there was too little time to return the fees prior to the lawsuit being filed, which occurred approximately one week after Friesen responded to Dowell. However, if Friesen had responded appropriately to Dowell's letter and explained the fee agreement and offered to return any unearned fees the lawsuit would most likely not have been filed. Again, it is another example of Friesen blaming someone else for circumstances that were well within his control to prevent. We are also disturbed by the second attorney-client agreement as well as the suspicious nature of Exhibits B and C and the excuses supporting their sudden appearance. Based upon these concerns, the many rule violations and past discipline we cannot agree with the OBA that a public censure would provide sufficient discipline necessary to deter such behavior in the future.