Opinion ID: 1980664
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Ms. Soininen's affidavits.

Text: On August 28, 2000, Ms. Soininen filed an affidavit in Soininen I in purported compliance with D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14(g). She asserted in the affidavit that since October 22, 1999, she had not represented clients in litigated matters, that she had not accepted any new retainers or engagements, that she was in compliance with the rules and regulations of the INS and continue[d] to represent individuals in administrative proceedings before the federal agency, and that she was not admitted to practice in any other state or federal jurisdictions or before any other federal agencies. [14] In fact, as we have noted, Ms. Soininen was not in compliance with the INS regulations, for she was at that time practicing before the immigration courts without being a member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar. Moreover, Ms. Soininen did not withdraw or correct this affidavit after she learned beyond any doubt that her claim of compliance was erroneous. On April 18, 2002, following institution of formal disciplinary proceedings against her in Soininen II, Ms. Soininen filed a second affidavit. In this affidavit, which Ms. Soininen described as having been submitted in conformity with In re Goldberg, 460 A.2d 982 (D.C.1983), Ms. Soininen asserted that she had not represented any client before a District of Columbia court or tribunal since September 9, 1999. She further represented that since July 6, 2001, she had not represented a client, or filed any documents, applications or correspondence on behalf of a client before the INS or the EOIR. Ms. Soininen omitted from this affidavit any mention of her practice before the DOL. [15] On January 21, 2003, Ms. Soininen filed a supplemental affidavit with the Board in which she reported the Immigration Court's order of interim suspension and her subsequent one-year suspension by that tribunal. She stated in this third affidavit that she had not represented any client in any court, forum or tribunal since July 2001; that she was currently employed as a legal assistant; and that she did not intend to resume the practice of law until the conclusion of the disciplinary proceeding in Soininen II. This self-suspension, however, was unsupervised; if Ms. Soininen had practiced law during this period, nobody who was aware of her doing so would have known that she was suspended, nor would any such person have had any occasion to report her conduct. Moreover, Ms. Soininen did not file an affidavit, as required by D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14 for suspended attorneys, that she had given notice of her suspension to clients, opposing parties, and tribunals. [16] Indeed, she could not file such an affidavit because she had not given such notice. On the contrary, as we have seen, Ms. Soininen represented to her immigration clients, at least implicitly, that she remained eligible to represent them at her new firm, and she look[ed] forward to continuing to serve your immigration needs.