Opinion ID: 1987354
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: First Count Client Matters

Text: Both client matters at issue involve Muenchrath's representation of immigrants petitioning to remain in the United States. The acts of misconduct occurred while Muenchrath was a staff attorney with the Lao Family Community of Minnesota. Muenchrath became employed with the Lao Family Community in the spring of 1995.
In 1996, Muenchrath assumed representation responsibilities for Ken Veu in an asylum/withholding of deportation matter. Muenchrath represented Veu at an April 15, 1996 hearing at which Veu's asylum petition was denied. At that hearing, the immigration court judge offered Veu the opportunity to either appeal the ruling and be given three to six months for voluntary departure or agree to an 18-month voluntary departure date, wait to reach priority status, and then petition to stay in the United States. Muenchrath advised Veu to agree to voluntary departure in 18 months because it appeared that Veu would reach priority status within one year. After Veu reached priority status in November 1996, a social manager at the International Institute in Akron, Ohio discussed Veu's priority status with Muenchrath and also advised Veu which forms to fill out in order to complete the process that would allow him to remain in the United States. Veu went to see Muenchrath on November 20, 1996 and obtained the necessary forms. On January 23, 1997, Veu met with Muenchrath and asked him to write a letter to follow up on the documents Veu had completed. Muenchrath refused to write the letter and instead told Veu to take the documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) office himself. Veu went to the INS office on January 27, 1997, at which time he was told that notice of his priority status had not arrived. The social manager from the Akron International Institute then spoke with Veu, telling him that his priority status was at the INS office, but under the filed date, not the approved date. The social manager told Veu to have Muenchrath call the INS manager for confirmation. On January 28, 1997, Veu discussed his priority status with Muenchrath and gave Muenchrath the social manager's telephone number. After Muenchrath failed to return four of Veu's telephone calls in early February, Veu went to Muenchrath's office and made an appointment for February 12. When Veu saw Muenchrath on February 12, he gave Muenchrath all of his documents, an $850 check for the INS filing fee, and $200 for a shipping fee. Thereafter, Veu regularly called Muenchrath to check on the status of the documents. Muenchrath did not return many of Veu's calls and at other times asked Veu to call back later. On the few occasions when Muenchrath did speak with Veu, he assured Veu that he was working on resolving Veu's priority status. In the fall of 1997, Veu's agreed-upon voluntary departure date was fast approaching. When Veu called Muenchrath on September 30, 1997, the receptionist at Lao Family Community told Veu, if you want to see [Muenchrath], come and wait at the door. On October 1, 1997, Veu and attorney Fue Vue did wait at Muenchrath's door. When Muenchrath arrived, he told Veu and Vue that the immigration court had approved a six-month extension of Veu's voluntary departure date and promised to get a copy of that order and Veu's extended work permit from the INS that afternoon. For two weeks thereafter, Veu repeatedly left messages for Muenchrath, but Muenchrath returned none of Veu's calls. On October 16, 1997, Muenchrath again met with Veu. During this meeting, Muenchrath gave Veu a letter, signed by Muenchrath, stating that Veu had been granted extensions of his voluntary departure date and his work permit. The statements in this letter were false and Muenchrath knew them to be false. Muenchrath also promised Veu that he would call the INS that day to obtain verification of the extension for Veu's employer. Veu met with Muenchrath again on November 3, 1997 and asked to have his file returned to him. Muenchrath falsely told Veu that the file was not in the office. When Veu received his file on November 7, it contained nothing other than the work performed by the attorney who had handled Veu's case prior to Muenchrath and by Veu himself. Except for appearing at Veu's April 15, 1996 hearing, Muenchrath had done no work on Veu's file in the more than 18 months he had represented Veu. The documents which Veu had prepared for mailing to the INS in January 1997 had never been filed and were not in Veu's file. Because no action had been taken on Veu's case during the 18 months since his April 1996 hearing, the INS had closed Veu's file and referred his case to the deportation office.
Muenchrath represented Chai Moua in an immigration matter during 1997. Moua was scheduled to appear at a deportation hearing on December 24, 1997. Muenchrath told Moua that the hearing had been postponed and that Moua need not appear. In fact, the hearing had not been postponed. Because neither Muenchrath nor Moua appeared at the hearing, the court issued an in absentia deportation order. Moua subsequently filed a motion with the immigration court to re-open and rescind the in absentia deportation order. The INS district counsel obtained an administrative subpoena from the immigration court to compel Muenchrath's attendance at Moua's motion hearing, which was scheduled for March 18, 1998. This subpoena was personally served upon Muenchrath on March 7, 1998. Muenchrath did not attend the hearing and took no action to quash the subpoena or otherwise excuse himself from attending. The immigration court judge continued the hearing to June 8, 1998 and referred the matter of Muenchrath's noncompliance with the subpoena to the United States Attorney's office for judicial enforcement. Muenchrath was arrested and brought before a federal district court judge, where Muenchrath agreed to attend the June 8 immigration court hearing. Nevertheless, Muenchrath did not attend the hearing and did not provide any explanation for his failure to appear. Moua's immigration court hearing was then continued to June 29, 1998. After intervention by, and with the urging of, the director, Muenchrath appeared by telephone at this hearing. During the hearing, Muenchrath admitted under oath that he had lied to Moua.