Opinion ID: 2050973
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: Petitioner's Present Ability to Practice Law

Text: The Hearing Committee found that Mr. Roxborough has the present capacity to practice law. Hearing Committee Report at 21. He has served as a paralegal for other lawyers. Tr. I 137. He provided copies of motions and memoranda that he had drafted and provided to the lawyers for whom he had worked. As the Committee heard no evidence about the facts in any of these cases, it found it impossible to determine whether these motions and memoranda were complete or accurate. Hearing Committee Report at 21. However, it found that the memoranda are well-written, well-argued and indistinguishable in overall quality from the kind of written work product that practicing lawyers routinely submit to federal tribunals. Petitioner testified that he had monitored classes at Howard Law School to try to keep current in the law. He completed a course on professional responsibility in 1998. He has learned how to conduct legal research using computerized services such as Lexis. Bar Counsel concedes that Petitioner has the present ability to practice law. The Hearing Committee also considered the evidence bearing on whether Petitioner has shown fitness as required by D.C.App. R. XI, § 13(g). The Committee heard persuasive testimony from two psychotherapists who had examined Mr. Roxborough. One, Dr. Smothers, had treated Petitioner every week from February 1996 to August 1998. (Petitioner stopped the sessions when his health insurance ran out.) The other, Dr. Ratner, examined Petitioner at the request of Bar Counsel in January and February 1995. Dr. Ratner, who had examined Petitioner first, diagnosed a moderately severe mental disorder. He portrayed Petitioner as a narcissistic individual with an inflated sense of self-worth. Petitioner also had a depressive disorder, anxiety symptoms, and manic mood swings. Dr. Ratner expressed some doubt that Petitioner would undergo therapy. A year later, Petitioner began therapy with Dr. Smothers. Dr. Smothers diagnosed him as having a personality disorder (narcissistic with dependent features) and major depression. Dr. Smothers prescribed medications for the depression. By 1997, Petitioner's symptoms were in remission and Dr. Smothers discontinued the medications. Dr. Smothers and Dr. Ratner both testified that they believe that Petitioner is fit to return to the practice of law. Dr. Smothers testified that Petitioner is better able now to cope with stress, although he recommends that Petitioner receive supportive therapy for six to eight months as he returns to law practice. Dr. Ratner reached a similar conclusion. The Committee noted that Petitioner's testimony demonstrated his acceptance of his previous mental problems and showed his acceptance of the need to understand the sources of his own stress and to control them. He testified without contradiction to an improved relationship with his wife and to his own willingness to accept responsibility for his failings and to avoid circumstances that might trigger problems for him. The Committee found him to be candid and forthright about his own mental health issues and credited the testimony of the doctors about his rehabilitation. Petitioner also suffered from glaucoma. In 1995, he underwent laser surgery to repair it but lost most of the vision in his left eye. He has moderate myopia in his right eye. He nonetheless has learned to cope with these vision problems by completing a training course at the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind. He also has attended a program sponsored by the Maryland Department of Education for attorneys with vision problems. The Hearing Committee observed that, during the hearing, Petitioner read slowly but correctly from several of the exhibits. It concluded that Mr. Roxborough recognizes his own limitations and has taken admirable steps to surmount them. Hearing Committee Report at 23. Petitioner informed the Board that he intends to become general counsel to the Way of the Cross Church of Christ for a year upon reinstatement. Petitioner's Affidavit, Jan. 2, 2001. Although evidence before the Hearing Committee showed that the Church has a Maryland address, Petitioner's Exhibit 7, Petitioner and the Church have assured the Board that the Church is incorporated and located in the District of Columbia, at 9th and D Streets, N.E. Petitioner's Affidavit, Jan. 2, 2001. Bar Counsel states that she has checked on the matters submitted in the supplemental materials offered to the Board and has noted no discrepancies. The Board notes that it is imperative that, if reinstated in the District of Columbia, Petitioner limit his practice to the District of Columbia unless and until he is reinstated elsewhere. (Petitioner testified that he applied for reinstatement in Maryland, but that disciplinary officials there told him to pursue a reinstatement petition here first. Tr. II 79-80.)