Opinion ID: 1288964
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Intellectual Competency to Practice Law

Text: We have said that there is no fixed standard in reinstatement proceedings by which we determine a petitioner's intellectual competency to return to practice. Kadrie, 602 N.W.2d at 873. But when a lawyer has been suspended for a long period of time, we have suggested that it might be advisable for an applicant to make a showing of some systematic effort to familiarize himself with current legal practice. Strand, 259 Minn. at 381, 107 N.W.2d at 519 (emphasizing that there is no definite or formal standard[ ] and each case must be determined on the basis of a judgment as to the individual involved). In Jellinger, we reinstated an attorney after a stayed disbarment subject to indefinite suspension. 728 N.W.2d at 919-20. We concluded that the attorney had current legal skills and knowledge, demonstrated by his completion of the professional responsibility exam and his CLE requirements, and also his work as a paralegal. Id. at 922. The attorney had been working as a paralegal for 2 years when he petitioned for reinstatement and for almost 4 years when we reinstated him. Id. at 920. The attorney also worked as a tax preparer while he was suspended. Id. In Kadrie, while the panel concluded that the attorney had not demonstrated that he possessed the skills and knowledge needed for corporate practice, we concluded that the attorney had demonstrated that he was sufficiently competent to be reinstated. 602 N.W.2d at 872-73. Supporting this conclusion was the fact that the attorney had earned 130 hours of CLE credits, 53.5 of which were related to corporate practice. Id. Further, we concluded that the attorney's employment during his suspension allowed him to familiarize himself with various aspects of corporate law. Id. at 873. Finally, in Trygstad, we concluded that the attorney was sufficiently competent to practice law when he had earned over 100 CLE credits, worked as in house counsel for a company, [7] and was working as a paralegal at the time of his reinstatement proceedings. 472 N.W.2d at 139. The attorney also had a plan set up for him to practice with an attorney he worked with when he was a paralegal. Id. Conversely, in In re Hanson, the attorney had not practiced law for 35 years. 454 N.W.2d 924, 926 (Minn.1990). We concluded that the attorney's eight CLE courses and his work as the personal representative for his brother's estate were not enough to adequately demonstrate[ ] his ability to practice law after such a long hiatus. Id. In this case, the panel found that based on Mose's work history, he does not have the necessary motivation or skills to practice law, nor has he evidenced an ability to prioritize his personal and professional life. Mose successfully completed the bar exam and 60.5 CLE credit hours. Mose argues that this should be sufficient to show his competency as an attorney. While it is important that Mose met the reinstatement conditions of passing the bar exam and completing the required CLE credits, given his history we conclude that more is needed to prove his competence to return to the practice of law. For example, work directly related to the law, as in Jellinger and Trygstad, or training specifically related to the practice areas in which he is interested in pursuing, as in Kadrie, would help to show Mose's legal competence. [8] While an attorney who has only been suspended for a short period of time may not need to show such experience to be reinstated, Mose has been away from the practice of law for 16 years. Further, he worked as an attorney for only approximately 5 years before he was first disciplined, and his professional misconduct occurred during 4 of those 5 years. Finally, much of Mose's misconduct for which he was suspended involved his ongoing lack of competence as an attorney. We therefore require that Mose provide more than his successful completion of the bar examination and CLE credits to prove he is now competent to practice law. After his suspension, Mose did not obtain any legal employment. Mose testified that his work officiating sports games has prepared him for the rigors of a law practice. He stated that as a sports official, he has to (1) make instantaneous decisions, (2) know the rules, (3) show up on time, (4) be prepared, (5) prioritize games in advance, and (6) schedule far in advance. But Mose did not provide evidence that any of his employment positions during his 16-year suspension involved any legal skills. Further, evidence showed that Mose was terminated from three different positions during his suspension for reasons such as missing work. Mose has not worked at a full-time job since his suspension. He generally officiates 20 to 25 hours a week and does so mainly on weekends and weeknights. When he volunteered at Home Line, he only worked a few hours a week. Thus, since Mose last practiced law he has had no experience with the rigors of full-time employment  legal or otherwise. Mose's only legal experience since his suspension is his 1-year position volunteering at Home Line for a few hours a week. As a volunteer, Mose was responsible for telephone intake. People would call with questions, Mose would take those questions to one of the three attorneys in the office, and then Mose would relay the information back to the caller. Mose's supervisor testified that Mose was competent, diligent, honest, and organized when he volunteered at Home Line, and that he would consider hiring Mose as an attorney. But the supervisor admitted that Mose's position did not involve many of the skills necessary for the practice of law. Mose's volunteer position did involve short-term case management, which the supervisor testified Mose handled well. But Mose's position did not involve any long-term case management or any legal research or writing. Considering Mose's lack of competence as an attorney before his suspension, as well as his lack of any real legal experience during his suspension, we conclude that Mose has not met his burden of showing that he is now competent to practice law. Based on the foregoing analysis, we hold that Mose should not be reinstated to the practice of law because he failed to meet the following requirements: (1) he did not satisfy all of the reinstatement conditions set out in our 1991 suspension order; (2) he failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he has undergone a sufficient moral change to practice law; and (3) he failed to show that he is intellectually competent to reenter the practice of law. Petition denied.