Opinion ID: 2636101
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: ODC 8549: DLIR/Gwendolyn Johnson

Text: On March 8, 2006, Gould advised the DLIR that he represented Gwendolyn Johnson and sought a hearing to determine whether Johnson was entitled to medical care. The letter contained no academic degree designations. Via letter dated March 9, 2006, the DLIR director asked Disciplinary Counsel, Is a suspended attorney allowed to represent claimants? Johnson also applied for a hearing and noted her attorney, Burton Gould, will be present. In response to ODC's inquiry, Gould asserted that one could act as an agent and not do any act that constitutes the practice of law, but that he had decided not to act as an agent for anyone at the Department of Labor. In a letter dated March 16, 2006, Special Assistant Disciplinary Counsel Alvin Ito advised Gould it was improper for Gould to represent an individual in a workers' compensation hearing, or to perform any acts that constitute the practice of law. [3] In an undated letter from Gould to attorney Robert Chong (presumably, employer's attorney), Gould essentially indicated he was aiding Johnson, but not representing her, and expressed a willingness to convey a fair offer. Chong declined to communicate with Gould. By letter dated April 8, 2008, ODC informed Gould that his letter to the DLIR violated HRPC 3.4(e) (knowingly disobey[ing] an obligation under rules of a tribunal), HRPC 5.5(a) (practic[ing] law in a jurisdiction where doing so violates the regulation of the legal profession), and HRPC 8.4(a) (violating the rules of professional conduct) and imposed an informal admonition.