Opinion ID: 836594
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Applicant's taxes

Text: The opposing half finds the circumstances surrounding applicant's failure to pay his taxes, especially after cashing in his IRA, to demonstrate a lack of good moral character and fitness to practice law. The opposing half acknowledges that applicant's life was in chaos during the period in which he failed to meet his tax obligations, but then sums up as follows: The panel finds that there was no natural catastrophe, medical emergency, or any other unexpected event justifying this failure. Applicant decided to leave his practice, move to Oregon, and windsurf. Such a move may have been, in the long run, good for Applicant's mental, physical, and spiritual health, but it does not explain why he did not pay his taxes.      Applicant states that he is aware of these obligations and intends to pay them. Applicant claims that the nature of his work is sporadic and that he earns so little money that he does not have enough money to live and still have something left to pay his tax debts. The panel is not convinced.    Applicant continues to live in Hood River working as a residential remodeler earning about $1,000 a month. If Applicant were serious about retiring his debts and scrupulously honoring his financial obligations, he could move to a metropolitan area, such as Portland, where he could reasonably be expected to earn more money. Applicant could also return to Wisconsin where he remains a licensed attorney.    The panel is left with the impression that Applicant continues to live in Hood River because he can windsurf. There is nothing wrong with windsurfing. But choosing to live a lifestyle which allows one to windsurf, while ignoring one's financial obligations, does not comport with the high ethical standards required of an attorney of this state. We disagree with the opposing half. Applicant always has filed income tax returns and acknowledged the taxes that he owed. For the most part, he has paid them. He himself has acknowledged that, when he failed to pay his taxes, his failures were his own doing and responsibility. Applicant has made at least small inroads on his tax obligations during even financially limiting circumstances and has held out the hope that he could satisfy all the obligations in full when he received his share of the attorney fee for the case in which he had been involved in Wisconsin. As we have noted, supplemental information shows that he has fulfilled that hope. We think that the following statement also by the opposing halfbetter sums up this case and the factors that we find most pertinent: This is a close case and a difficult decision. Several practitioners and judges have attested to Applicant's good moral character, and have lauded Applicant's skill and integrity in the practice of law. There is no evidence that Applicant has committed fraud, deceit, or any crimes of moral turpitude. There is no evidence that Applicant has ever cheated a client nor that Applicant's handling of his financial affairs has ever left a client shortchanged. We agree with that description of the record. We understand it to mean that the opposing half accepts as a general proposition that applicant is a person of good moral character, subject only to a lingering doubt as to whether he was wholly committed to satisfying his tax obligation. As noted, applicant's actions now have laid that issue to rest. The opposing half's surviving concern consists of doubts that applicant has demonstrated his fitness to practice law. For our part, we are satisfied on that score, as well. Applicant appears always to have had his clients' best interests in mind, so much so that he stopped practicing law at a time when he no longer felt fit to represent those clients adequately. No issues have been raised concerning his competence. That demonstrates to us that applicant has had, and continues to have, the fitness to appreciate and to engage in the practice of law. It also appears to us that applicant understands and appreciates the reasons that led to his past financial difficulties, is determined to avoid their repetition, and is capable of carrying out that determination. In that regard, applicant is willing to accept the recommendation of the favoring half that he be admitted conditionally. [5] The conditions that are recommended by the favoring half are appended to their Recommendation of Conditional Admission. Although some of those conditions have been met during the hiatus between the hearing and this decision, the balance of them appear to be well considered. We adopt those latter conditions, with the alteration of the expiration date of one of them (to allow for the passage of time). Those conditions are: 1. The term of conditional admission may be extended upon a showing of good cause set forth in a petition to the Oregon Supreme Court filed by Oregon State Bar Disciplinary Counsel. 2. In the event that applicant enters into a solo law practice during the term of conditional admission, applicant agrees to use the loss-prevention services of the Professional Liability Fund for help in setting up a law practice, including instruction in lawyer trust accounts and trust accounting practices. 3. In the event that applicant complies with all conditions established by this agreement, the term of his conditional admission shall expire on January 1, 2001, and he shall be admitted to practice law unconditionally thereafter without further order of the Oregon Supreme Court. With the foregoing conditions in place and monitored, we are satisfied that applicant possesses the necessary good moral character and fitness to be admitted to the practice of law in Oregon. When applicant executes an appropriate document committing himself to the conditions that we have identified and providing that the conditions will remain in place until January 1, 2001, he should be admitted to the practice of law. Applicant is admitted conditionally to the practice of law.