Opinion ID: 2052080
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Hearing Judge's Opinion

Text: Judge Souder made the following factual findings: On February 25, 2002, Benchamas D. Sporay (`Client') met with Respondent to obtain legal advice regarding her separation from her husband, which occurred on January 16, 2002. The Client signed a Retainer/Engagement Agreement (`Agreement') on March 8, 2002. In the Agreement, the Client agreed to have Respondent represent the Client and perform all necessary legal services in connection with representation in the matter of marital separation and divorce. Furthermore, the Client was to pay Respondent a retainer of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00), which included a two hundred seventy dollar ($270.00) non-refundable engagement fee.1 The Client agreed to pay Respondent at an hourly rate of one hundred thirty five dollars ($135.00). 1. The Client vacated the marital home without taking any of her belongings. The Client submitted four checks to Respondent for payment of her representation. On March 8, 2002, the Client paid two thousand dollars ($2,000.00). On March 15, 2002, the Client paid ten dollars ($10.00). Additionally, the Client paid five hundred dollars ($500.00) on April 17, 2002. Finally, on May 5, 2002, the Client paid two thousand dollars ($2,000.00). Altogether, the client paid $4,510. The Client's husband filed a Complaint for Limited Divorce and Other Relief in the Circuit Court for Harford County on March 13, 2002. On April 12, 2002, the Client, through Respondent, filed an Answer and Counter-Complaint for Absolute Divorce.2 Respondent represented the Client at a protective order hearing in March 2002, in which the Client sought protection from her husband, and to retrieve her belongings from the marital home. An ex parte Order was granted; and a Consent Order was entered in April. A provision of the Consent Order was that the Client's husband was not to contact her. 2. The Counter-Complaint for Absolute Divorce failed to allege a ground upon which an absolute divorce can be granted. Nor was a Financial Statement submitted with the Answer and Counter-Complaint as required by the Md. Rules. In May 2002, the Client met with Respondent to discuss how the case would proceed. The Client wrote out her reasons for seeking the divorce, and the Respondent wrote her own notes in the margins of the Client's notes. The Respondent misplaced these notes until the investigation of these charges was underway and never divulged that they were lost to the Client. After the May 2002 meeting, other than responding to discovery propounded by the Client's husband, no action took place in the Client's divorce matter until January 2003. In January 2003, the Client met with the Respondent and indicated that she wanted to proceed with the divorce action, as it had been twelve months since she had separated from her husband. Respondent told the Client that she would file for an absolute divorce based on a mutual and voluntary separation on her behalf. The Client e-mailed Respondent on March 28, 2003 and May 14, 2003 seeking an update on the status of her divorce case. Respondent did not respond to either e-mail. On June 23, 2003, the Client telephoned Respondent seeking an up-date on her case. Respondent failed to return the Client's phone call. On July 1, 2003 the Client again [called] Respondent seeking an update of her case, and stated that she was disappointed with Respondent for her procrastination and for ignoring the Client. Respondent called the Client on July 3, 2003 and promised that she would give an update by July 7, 2003. The Respondent failed to respond by July 7, 2003 as promised. Respondent's failures regarding communication with the Client continued from July 9, 2003 through August 11, 2003. During that time the Client telephoned Respondent at least eight times. Of those eight telephone contacts the Client left four messages. Respondent failed to respond to any of the messages. Furthermore, on several occasions Respondent indicated to the Client that she was busy with another client and that she would get back to the Client. Respondent failed to do so. Additionally, on one occasion, Respondent answered the call but indicated that she was on her way to court and would have to get back to the Client. Again, Respondent failed to do so. Subsequently, on August 11, 2003 the Client filed a complaint against Respondent with the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland (`Petitioner'). Respondent testified that from January 17, 2003 through July 29, 2003 she was planning a settlement demand to be submitted to opposing counsel on behalf of the Client.3 There is no physical evidence of Respondent's progress on the case other than her initial responses to opposing counsel's discovery requests. Furthermore, Respondent never propounded discovery requests to the opposing party. There was no activity concerning the Client's file by Respondent in 2003. To the extent Respondent was `planning,' it was apparently a cerebral exercise undertaken without the benefit of information concerning the opposing party's current financial information. 3. To explain her failure to move the case, Respondent asserts that the Client preferred to settle rather than litigate. In that regard, however, the Client was not unlike most clients. Indeed, Respondent never determined whether the opposing party was available for the purpose of settlement discussions. At the January 2003 meeting, the Client advised Respondent that her husband, a member of the military reserves, `may be called up.' Whether Client's husband's unit had been activated or would be activated in the future is irrelevant. Respondent made no effort to determine the Client's husband's status. She did not inquire of husband's counsel; she filed no discovery requests in the pending litigation; nor did she ever request an absolute divorce on behalf of the client based on a mutual and voluntary separation. Respondent admits that she was unaware of Client's husband's status. Respondent's counsel argues that Respondent believed Client's husband was in active military service overseas, and unavailable for the case to proceed. If that were true, Respondent's failure to advise her client that the case could not proceed while her husband was on active duty overseas is inexplicable. On September 3, 2003 the Client retained Christopher R. Van Roden, Esq. (`Van Roden') to represent her in her divorce proceedings. Van Roden sent a letter dated September 5, 2003 to the Respondent advising that he had been retained to represent the Client and asking the Respondent to turn over to the Client her case file. Van Roden also asked Respondent for a detailed itemization of all work Respondent performed for the Client since she was retained, and a refund of any unused portion of Client's retainer. On September 22, 2003 the Respondent filed a Motion to Strike Appearance. However, the Respondent failed to turn over the Client's file to Van Roden until February 13, 2004, the date of the Respondent's Attorney Grievance Commission's Peer Review Meeting. No explanation for the failure to respond promptly to Van Roden was proffered. Respondent's counsel suggested that Van Roden would have reviewed the Court's file in any case, and, therefore there was no prejudice to the Client by Respondent's failure to respond to Van Roden. No prejudice to the Client's case as a result of Respondent's delay was shown; Client did have to pay new counsel to review the Court file. The Respondent failed to properly maintain her finances with respect to the Client's case. On March 15, 2002, the Respondent took $99.50 more than that to which she was entitled from the Client's retainer when she wrote Check 1329 to herself in the amount of $257.00. Additionally, Respondent took $47.19 from the Client's retainer when she wrote Check 1364 in the amount of $1,550.00 on June 11, 2002 to herself. Respondent admits that her records showed a $47.19 credit due to Client. All funds due to the Client were eventually paid to the Client, and there is no claim Respondent owes the Client money. Respondent explained her failures as resulting from a campaign for elective office in the Fall of 2002, her decertification by the Client Security Trust Fund for a time, time spent correcting the foregoing problem, and the need to train a new secretary who required constant instruction. These excuses did not constitute valid defenses. Petitioner mailed letters to Respondent on three occasions4 requesting a written response to the complaint filed with Petitioner's office on August 11, 2003. On all three occasions Respondent failed to submit a response to Petitioner's request. Furthermore, Respondent did not file an Answer to the Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action until October 12, 2004. The untimely Answer was only accepted as Petitioner did not object to the Court vacating its prior Order of Default against Respondent. Eventually, Respondent met with Petitioner's Investigator concerning the matter on November 17, 2003. 4. Petitioner's letters to Respondent were dated August 28, 2003, September 8, 2003, and October 15, 2003. The Honorable William O. Carr, Administrative Judge for the Circuit Court of Harford County, testified that he had known Respondent since elementary school. In the six months prior to the hearing, in his opinion, Respondent had evolved into a good problem solver. Prior to that time he observed that she had difficulty in focusing on the issues and could be problematic. Reverend Clyde Allen Spicer testified to Respondent's good character. Judge Souder made the following conclusions of law. Petitioner alleges that Respondent violated the following Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct: 1.1 (Competence), 1.3 (Diligence), 1.4 (Communication), 1.15 (Safekeeping property), 1.16 (Declining or terminating representation), 8.1 (Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters), and 8.4 (Misconduct). Additionally, Petitioner alleges that Respondent violated Maryland Rule 6-609 (Prohibited transactions) and Md.Code Ann., Business Occupations and Professions, § 10-306 (Misuse of trust money). Respondent was not diligent in her representation of Client in violation of Rule 1.3. Respondent took no action to file an absolute divorce on behalf of Client based on a mutual and voluntary separation when requested to do so in January 2003. At no time in 2002/2003 did Respondent propound discovery that might have assisted her in preparing (as opposed to `planning') a settlement demand. Nor did Respondent engage in any settlement discussions with opposing counsel. Respondent failed to respond meaningfully to numerous communications from Client in violation of Rule 1.4. Respondent failed to provide the file or otherwise communicate with Client's successor counsel, Mr. Van Roden, for many months in violation of Rule 1.16. Bar Counsel states that the failure to communicate and the lack of diligence demonstrate that Respondent is not a competent attorney as required by Rule 1.1. This Court did not find persuasive Bar Counsel's argument in this case that violations of Rules 1.3 and 1.4 automatically constitute a violation of Rule 1.1. Respondent violated Rule 8.1 by failing to respond to Petitioner's requests seeking a response to the Client's complaint. Respondent's defense that she became paralyzed with fear when she received such requests from Bar Counsel and is unable to act is unacceptable. Respondent's assertion that illness prevented her from timely responding to the Petition herein was also unpersuasive in light of the fact that she worked on other Client matters and appeared in Court during the illness. Respondent's apology for her failure to respond in the instant case was accepted. While Respondent's sloppy bookkeeping practices resulted in violations of the law  1.15, 16-609 and 10-306, these were merely technical violations, not in large amounts, that more organized financial record keeping would obviate. Petitioner's argument that the aforesaid accounting violations also constitute a violation of Rule 8.4 was unpersuasive in this case.