Opinion ID: 835812
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Advising Unrepresented Person

Text: In its first cause of complaint, the Bar alleges that the accused violated DR 7-104(A)(2) when she assisted and directed another lawyer in her firm in advising Patricia Battle concerning her supposed right as a crime victim under Article I, section 42, of the Oregon Constitution (1996) to have the criminal charges against her husband dismissed; when the accused revised an affidavit on that matter drafted by the other lawyer in the firm on Patricia Battle's behalf; and when she met with Patricia Battle in her office on the day of the hearing to prepare Patricia Battle for the hearing. DR 7-104(A) provides, in part: During the course of the lawyer's representation of a client, a lawyer shall not:      (2) Give advice to a person who is not represented by a lawyer, other than the advice to secure counsel, if the interests of such person are or have a reasonable possibility of being in conflict with the interests of the lawyer's client. It is undisputed that Patricia Battle was not represented by a lawyer and that neither the accused nor anyone at her firm advised Patricia Battle to secure counsel. To establish that the accused violated DR 7-104(A)(2), then, the Bar must show, by clear and convincing evidence, that Patricia Battle's interests were, or had the reasonable possibility of being, in conflict with those of the accused's client, Warren Battle, and that the accused gave Patricia Battle advice. We address each of those requirements in turn. The accused steadfastly has maintained that Patricia Battle's interests were not in actual conflict with those of the accused's client because both desired the same outcome, viz., dismissal of the criminal charges against Warren Battle. However, the rule against giving advice to an unrepresented person applies both in cases in which the interests of the two parties actually conflict and in which there is the reasonable possibility of the interests conflicting. The question, then, is whether there was a reasonable possibility of Patricia Battle's interests being adverse to those of her husband, notwithstanding the fact that they had a common desire, at least for some period of time, in having the criminal case against Warren Battle dismissed. Although DR 7-104(A)(2) does not specify what it means for the interests of an unrepresented person to conflict with those of the lawyer's client, the disciplinary rule defining what constitutes a conflict of interest in the representation of current clients, DR 5-105(A), provides useful context. That rule states that a conflict may be actual or likely. [7] Of particular pertinence here, a likely conflict of interest is defined in DR 5-105(A)(2) as a situation[ ] in which the objective personal, business or property interests of the clients are adverse. We think that the objective personal interests of an alleged batterer and the batterer's victim are inherently adverse and, therefore, that there is a likely conflict of interest when a lawyer gives advice to both the abuser and the victim. For example, an unrepresented victim who is financially or otherwise dependent on the abuser may think that he or she has few options available other than to have the abuser return to the home to support or help the victim and any children involved. The victim, therefore, may be motivated to recant for reasons other than that the abuse did not happen. [8] Such a scenario could place the victim in a position of having to lie, thereby placing the victim in danger of being charged with perjury or filing a false police report, among other things. In addition, a lawyer who has only the victim's interests in mind well may be able to show the victim that other resources are available to assist him or her and that it would be in his or her and (and any children's) best interest to have the abuser prosecuted. [9] In fact, the accused's conduct at the hearing demonstrates that she thought that there was a possibility of a conflict of interest. The accused objected to Patricia Battle being sworn in during the hearing on the motion to dismiss the charges against Warren Battle. The accused made that objection, as she earlier had informed Patricia Battle that she would, because she was concerned that anything that Patricia Battle said under oath at the hearing could be used later against Warren Battle at his criminal trial. In addition, it is significant that the accused knew from the police reports in Warren Battle's client file that Patricia Battle had been injured in the altercation that had led to Warren Battle's arrest, that children had been present at the time of the incident, and that Warren Battle had a criminal record and was a registered sex offender. Those facts suggest to us (and, we think, also must have suggested to the accused, notwithstanding her protestations to the contrary) that the Battles' objective personal interests were adverse and, therefore, that a likely conflict of interest existed between them. Based on the foregoing, we hold that the interests of Patricia Battle were or had the reasonable possibility of being in conflict with those of the accused's client, Warren Battle. We next turn to the question whether the accused gave Patricia Battle advice other than the advice to secure counsel. The word advice is not defined either in DR 7-104(A)(2) or elsewhere in the disciplinary rules. This court has not discussed or defined the term in this context. Indeed, even familiar authority proves less than helpful. [10] However, this is not a proceeding that requires us to explore the outer boundaries of the types of information that a lawyer might offer an unrepresented person without running afoul of DR 7-104(A)(2). Here, the record shows by clear and convincing evidence that the accused had developed a novel interpretation of a new constitutional provision, Article I, section 42, of the Oregon Constitution (1996); that the accused, through Kelly, informed Patricia Battle (who never before had heard of Article I, section 42 (1996)) that, under her theory, Patricia Battle had a constitutional right to have the charges against her assailant dismissed; that the accused suggested to Patricia Battle, through Kelly, that Patricia Battle pursue a specific course of conduct to accomplish that end; that the accused assisted Kelly in drafting an affidavit for Patricia Battle's signature that explained that Patricia Battle wished to avail herself of her alleged constitutional right; and that the accused prepared Patricia Battle for the hearing before Judge Harris, telling her what to say and how to say it. Based on the foregoing, we conclude that the accused gave Patricia Battle, an unrepresented person, advice, as that word is used in DR 7-104(A)(2). The accused insists that DR 7-104(A)(2) does not prohibit a lawyer from giving an unrepresented person procedural information, as opposed to legal advice, and that, because the accused reasonably thought that she had given Patricia Battle only procedural information, the entire disciplinary case against her, including the charges relating to misrepresentation by omission and prejudice to the administration of justice, fails. Assuming for purposes of argument that the accused is correct that a lawyer may give procedural information to an unrepresented person without violating DR 7-104(A)(2), our recitation of the facts above demonstrates that what the accused did here went beyond that. In light of our earlier conclusion that Patricia Battle's interests had a reasonable possibility of being in conflict with the interests of the accused's client, Warren Battle, we hold that the accused violated DR 7-104(A)(2).