Opinion ID: 1936508
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: pro hac vice application

Text: ¶ 12. Count Three alleges that Attorney Eisenberg again violated SCR 20:8.4(c). Count Four alleges a violation of SCR 20:3.3(a)(1) (a lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of fact to a tribunal). [6] ¶ 13. These counts arose out of an incident in which Attorney Eisenberg submitted an affidavit in support of an application to appear pro hac vice in California which indicated he had never been previously suspended from legal practice. The referee took testimony from Attorney Eisenberg, his secretary, and the California attorney who had prepared the affidavit and faxed it to Attorney Eisenberg's office. ¶ 14. The testimony of the three indicated that California rules only required an attorney to verify that he was not currently under suspension, although the application and affidavit prepared by the California attorney did require Eisenberg to verify whether he had ever been suspended or disbarred by any court. The secretary testified that she took the application and affidavit into Attorney Eisenberg's office, he was busy with another matter, and only a few minutes were spent in the process of having him sign it. Attorney Eisenberg conceded that he should have read the application and affidavit before signing it but contended that he was busy and it was simply an inadvertent error and he did not intentionally misrepresent his disciplinary history. ¶ 15. However, the referee found that since Attorney Eisenberg regularly has appeared on a pro hac vice basis in other states, he should have known the importance of accuracy in this application process. He did not find Attorney Eisenberg's testimony to be credible and stated that his claim of inadvertent error rings hollow and is absolutely unbelievable and therefore actual dishonesty and deceit was involved. Accordingly, the referee further concluded as a matter of law that there was a violation on both counts. ¶ 16. In reviewing the record of this matter, we concede that there is no direct evidence of an intent to misrepresent. We further concede the possibility that a different trier of fact might have reached different findings and conclusions on this matter. However, the law typically recognizes that it is unable to look into a person's mind to find intent and it must be determined from the person's acts and words and the circumstances of the situation. We also are constrained by the clearly erroneous standard and cannot conclude that the referee's findings and conclusions, based heavily on his assessment of Attorney Eisenberg's lack of credibility, meets the standard. Accordingly, we adopt the referee's findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect to these counts.