Opinion ID: 2602259
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Count II, Ortega Complaint

Text: ¶ 10 Juanita Ortega filed the second complaint. She and several of her co-workers were arrested at their place of employment. Their employer asked Respondent to represent the employees on criminal charges arising out of the incident. At the first court appearance, Respondent realized he had previously represented Ms. Ortega's mother, June Henderson, and her brother, William Ortega. Respondent informed Ms. Ortega that he did not want to enter an appearance until he discussed this issue with her. He asked her to meet him at his office later that week. ¶ 11 Respondent subsequently met with Ms. Ortega and informed her that approximately one to two years prior he had represented her mother and her brother in a case involving the guardianship of Ms. Ortega's minor children. Respondent had filed a petition with the court seeking guardianship of Ms. Ortega's children but had never obtained service on her. According to Respondent, when Ms. Henderson and Mr. Ortega began to disagree on the guardianship, Respondent informed them orally that he was not going to pursue the matter any further. However, Respondent never dismissed the case or withdrew his representation of Ms. Henderson and Mr. Ortega. ¶ 12 After Respondent explained the situation, Ms. Ortega signed a form prepared by Respondent which purportedly allowed him to represent both Ms. Ortega and her mother and waived any claim of a conflict of interest. Ms. Ortega asked Respondent not to tell her mother about the arrest or criminal charge. Respondent assented to this request. Respondent provided representation to Ms. Ortega on the criminal case which was completed in late 1999. Respondent never disclosed the potential conflict to Ms. Henderson or Mr. Ortega nor requested a waiver from either of them. ¶ 13 Despite informing Ms. Ortega that he would not pursue the guardianship any further and despite his assurances to her that he would not discuss her criminal case with her mother, Respondent's office prepared the following letter which came into the hands of Ms. Henderson. RE: ORTEGA GUARDIANSHIP  JUNE HENDERSON TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Please be advised that our firm represents Mrs. June Henderson in the above-referenced cause of action. We have asked for a court date to hear the Letters of Guardianship but due to jury trials, a date has not been set. This case has been on going for some time due to the inability to serve notice on the natural mother. She has avoided service by moving to different residences for a period of time. At the current time, our judge is in jury trial and has been in session in Newkirk, Ponca City and Perry. Please note also that this firm does not represent Juanita Ortega in ANY case at all. She was a party to a criminal case where we represented a club where employees were arrested for indecent exposure. Ms. Ortega signed a Waiver in this instance. Dee Pettay for O. Ronald McGee Attorney for Petitioner ¶ 14 Respondent testified before the Tribunal that he did not instruct his secretary to prepare the letter nor was he aware that she had prepared the letter. He insisted he was out of the office on the day the letter was prepared. He testified that his secretary never informed him about the letter, although a copy was placed in Ms. Henderson's file. ¶ 15 The parties have stipulated that Respondent's actions violated Rules 1.2 (scope of representation), 1.6 (confidentiality of information), 1.7 (conflict of interest: general rule) of the ORPC and Rule 1.3 (acts contrary to prescribed standards of conduct) of the RGDP. ¶ 16 A fundamental principle in the attorney-client relationship is that the lawyer maintain confidentiality of information relating to the representation. This principle applies not merely to matters communicated in confidence by the client, but also to all information relating to the representation, whatever its source. A lawyer may not disclose such information unless the client consents after consultation. Furthermore, a lawyer is duty-bound to supervise the work done by lay personnel and stands ultimately responsible for work done by all nonlawyer staff. See State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Taylor, 2000 OK 35, 4 P.3d 1242. The evidence establishes, by a clear and convincing standard, that Respondent, through his secretary's actions, revealed client information in violation of Rule 1.6, ORPC. Such actions by Respondent were contrary to prescribed standards of conduct and are grounds for discipline under Rule 1.3, RGDP. ¶ 17 Respondent's conduct also violated Rule 1.7, ORPC, relating to conflicts of interest. The rule provides that a lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation of that client will be directly adverse to another client. [1] Respondent violated this canon when he agreed to represent Ms. Ortega in the criminal matter when he was, concurrently, representing her mother and brother in a guardianship seeking custody of Ms. Ortega's children. He undertook the representation without disclosing the conflict or seeking a waiver from Ms. Henderson or Mr. Ortega. It should have been immediately apparent to Respondent that any information he acquired representing Ms. Ortega could conceivably be useful to Ms. Henderson and Mr. Ortega in their effort to seek custody of Ms. Ortega's children. Furthermore, Respondent's promise to Ms. Ortega to withhold information about the criminal charge from Ms. Henderson and Mr. Ortega severely limited his ability to effectively represent them in the custody action. ¶ 18 We are not persuaded by Respondent's explanation that he did not intend to pursue the guardianship any further. His explanation in this regard is belied by the letter prepared by his office which states [p]lease be advised that our firm represents Mrs. June Henderson in the above-referenced cause of action. We have asked for a court date to hear the Letters of Guardianship but due to jury trials, a date has not been set. If Respondent did not wish to pursue the guardianship he was obliged to either dismiss the case or withdraw as the attorney of record. ¶ 19 We find the record establishes by clear and convincing evidence that Respondent's conduct directly violated Rule 1.7, ORPC. Such actions by Respondent were contrary to prescribed standards of conduct and are grounds for discipline under Rule 1.3, RGDP. ¶ 20 Although Respondent has stipulated to violating Rule 1.2, ORPC, we have a duty to review the evidence de novo to determine if the allegations of misconduct are established by clear and convincing evidence. Stipulations of the parties and findings of fact and recommendations of the Tribunal are advisory, being neither binding nor persuasive. See State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Doris, 1999 OK 94, 991 P.2d 1015; State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Arthur, 1999 OK 97, 991 P.2d 1026. Rule 1.2 provides a lawyer shall abide by his client's decisions concerning the objectives of representation subject to certain qualifications. The record does not establish that Respondent failed to abide by his client's decisions concerning the objectives of representation. We find this allegation of professional misconduct is not supported by clear and convincing evidence.