Opinion ID: 2274000
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: compliance with terms of suspension or disbarment.

Text: Concerning the relevant factor of compliance with the order of disbarment, the Committee observed that evidence indicated that Burns had complied with the requirement that he notify clients of his inability to represent them. But the Committee was not persuaded that Burns had fully complied with the terms of his disbarment, pointing to evidence that after he was disbarred, Burns continued to identify himself as an attorney in making political campaign contributions and engaged in actions approximating the unauthorized practice of law. The Committee acknowledged that Burns was entitled to draft pleadings for lawsuits in which he represented himself, but it found that some of his legal work may have crossed the line when he assisted an individual with filing a bar complaint against another attorney. The Committee specifically noted the individual's testimony that he [Burns] told her it would keep him [Burns] from being re-admitted if the KBA found out that he had helped her[,] which the Committee believed indicates that he [Burns] thought he was doing something wrong and did it anyway. The Committee also cited [h]is work as an `investigator' and paralegal for an attorney as another example of Mr. Burns engaging in activities that may or may not have been practicing law, but are close enough to the line to be of concern. Although it had no reason to disbelieve the attorney who testified to having no knowledge of Burns practicing law after his disbarment, it nonetheless acknowledged that it could not reasonably expect an attorney to admit he had assisted an individual in unlawful practice. . . .