Opinion ID: 1938714
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Statement of April 12, 1988 was a Violative Misrepresentation.

Text: Although Respondent's March 28, 1988 statement was not a misrepresentation violative of DR 1-102(A)(4), Respondent's statement made in the document that he filed with the Court on April 12, 1988 (which were also charged as a violation by Bar Counsel) was materially false, and made with intent to deceive. We refer, of course, to Respondent's statement in response to Judge Greene's Show Cause Order that he had lied about being the surgeon's attorney simply to test the confidentiality of the mediation process. Respondent himself admitted that this April 12 statement was not true in his May 20, 1988 response to Bar Counsel's inquiry in this case [B.Ex. 2]. In that document, Respondent explained: I express[ed] myself incorrectly when I said I intentionally misled the mediator. (I was so excited that I had proof that there was a leak in contradiction to the Judge Order.) Respondent tried to justify his April 12 statement as a slip of the tongue brought on by excitement. However, it seems clear that Respondent fabricated this explanation when he became aware that his candid remarks as to his relationship with the surgeon had been reported to the Court, thereby putting him in the position where he had effectively conceded a conflict of interest. Despite Respondent's urging, it is hard to excuse Respondent's false statement about his test as an excited utterance because it was, in fact, a written statement filed with the Court in response to a Show Cause Order. In that type of situation, attorneys can reasonably be expected to be careful. We conclude, therefore, that Respondent's April 12, 1988 filing with the Court contained a misrepresentation that violated DR 1-102(A)(4).