Opinion ID: 1887103
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 17

Heading: proposed recommendation as to sanction

Text: The Committee finds, based on clear and convincing evidence, that Respondent violated Rules 8.4(d), 8.1(b), and Rule XI, § 2(b)(3), by failing to cooperate with Bar Counsel and to comply with an Order of the Board issued in connection with the investigation of the ethics complaint underlying this matter. Bar Counsel asks that the Committee recommend a sanction of a 30-day suspension plus a showing of fitness to practice law prior to reinstatement. In recommending discipline in cases in which lawyers fail to respond, the Board and the Court look to a respondent's eventual participation in the disciplinary proceedings and his prior discipline. See, e.g., Steinberg, 761 A.2d at 280-81 (the Court noted a distinction between lawyers who never respond and lawyers who ultimately respond and participate in the disciplinary process; the Court also noted that prior discipline can increase sanction). [17] A sanction is not meant to punish a respondent-lawyer, but rather to protect the public, courts, and legal profession, and to deter future, similar conduct by respondent. In re Abrams, 689 A.2d 6, 12 (D.C.1997); In re Ryan, 670 A.2d 375, 380 (D.C.1996) (citations omitted). D.C. Bar R. XI, § 9(g), requires the imposition of consistent discipline for comparable conduct. An egregious failure to cooperate with the Office of Bar Counsel and the Board constitutes a serious violation of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, and ... an offender runs the risk of being subjected to serious sanctions, including suspension coupled with a requirement to show fitness to practice law. Lockie, 649 A.2d at 547; Delaney, 697 A.2d at 1212. Failure to cooperate with a disciplinary investigation typically results in suspension for thirty days when the attorney ultimately participates in proceedings and answers the underlying complaint. See, e.g., In re Beaman, Bar Docket Nos. 19-99 et al. (BPR Feb. 9, 2001), adopted, 775 A.2d 1063 (30-day suspension with no fitness requirement where response to ethical complaint was filed on the day of the disciplinary hearing); Steinberg, 761 A.2d at 279 (no fitness requirement where response to complaint was filed the day before hearing). However, suspension, when exacerbated by other misconduct, can be for substantially longer. See, e.g., In re Jones, 534 A.2d 336, 340 (D.C.1987) (six-month suspension where respondent had a significant record of prior discipline). Reinstatement following suspension is, at times, conditional. Where a respondent has not cooperated with Bar Counsel by the time of the hearing, reinstatement following suspension may be conditioned on a showing of cooperation with Bar Counsel. See, e.g., Beller, 802 A.2d 340; In re Mattingly, 723 A.2d 1219 (D.C.1999); Lilly, 699 A.2d at 1135. Reinstatement conditioned on a showing of fitness to practice has also been ordered where circumstances are exacerbated by a respondent's behavior before and during disciplinary proceedings. See, e.g., Giles, 741 A.2d 1062 (persistent failure to cooperate); In re Wright, 702 A.2d 1251 (D.C.1997) (finding violations of four additional disciplinary rules); Delaney, 697 A.2d at 1213 (over 20 attempts to serve process); Lockie, Bar Docket Nos. 537-91 et al. at 4 (BPR July 26, 1993), aff'd in part, 649 A.2d at 546 (several failed attempts to serve process; failed to participate in hearing); Smith, Bar Docket Nos. 248-82 et al., at 2-3 (BPR Jan. 13, 1994), adopted, 649 A.2d 299 (D.C.1994) (respondent deliberately evaded service and failed to promptly return client's property). Unlike the respondents in Smith, Delaney, and other cases, Respondent did cooperate in the disciplinary process prior to being sanctioned, but Respondent's conduct is hardly better. Respondent filed a response to the underlying ethical complaint on the day that he was finally served with Bar Counsel's charges, and he participated in pre-hearing conferences and attended the hearing. However, he was well forewarned that his conduct was unacceptable and unethical. Respondent is no stranger to the disciplinary system; his disregard for the Rules of Professional Conduct is chronic, creating the impression that he has contempt for the disciplinary process and casting considerable doubt on his ability to practice law in an ethical manner. [18] Respondent has been sanctioned four times in the past. In one of those cases, he was suspended for 30 days for conduct identical to that perpetrated in this matter. Steinberg, 761 A.2d 279. His continuing and persistent disregard for the disciplinary process is demonstrated by a comparison of that case to the instant one. In both cases, Respondent repeatedly failed to respond to Bar Counsel's requests for information. In both cases, Respondent's disregard for the disciplinary process caused Bar Counsel to expend resources and seek an order of the Board compelling Respondent's response. When the Board's orders were issued and served, Respondent still failed to respond in a timely manner. In the earlier case, he responded only the day before his disciplinary hearing; in the instant case, he responded minutes before being served with Bar Counsel's charges. At both hearings, Respondent neither contested the facts alleged by Bar Counsel nor denied that he had violated the Rules of Professional Conduct or D.C. Bar R. XI. In both cases, Respondent effectively prevented the filing of formal charges by delaying and impeding Bar Counsel's investigation and by ignoring orders of the Board. The Hearing Committee addressing the prior case against Respondent recommended a thirty-day suspension with a showing of fitness prior to reinstatement. 761 A.2d at 281. However, the Board declined to recommend fitness because Respondent ultimately responded to the complaints, participated in the disciplinary hearing, conceded the violations, and admitted responsibility, thereby not demonstrating the kind of disregard warranting a fitness requirement. Id. at 283-84. As a result, the Board recommended a thirty-day suspension and the Court accepted that recommendation. Id. at 285 (appending Board report and recommendation). In the prior, analogous proceeding, Respondent was warned by the Board as follows: The Office of Bar Counsel has many matters which deserve prompt attention. Where attorneys cavalierly disregard requests for responses from Bar Counsel, Bar Counsel is then forced to expend substantial amounts of money and resources which could and should have been more appropriately expended on other pressing matters. Id. at 283. Similarly, in ordering a 30-day suspension, the Court warned Respondent as follows: [A]ttorneys cannot be allowed to willfully ignore and frustrate the efforts of Bar Counsel and the Board to obtain responses to charges of serious ethical misconduct. Attorneys must know that if they choose this course of action, the consequences will be severe. Id. at 280. In light of Respondent's repeated failures, the consequences should now be more severe. A showing of fitness is appropriate in circumstances where the respondent has repeatedly evinced indifference (or worse) toward the disciplinary procedures by which the Bar regulates itself. In re Siegel, 635 A.2d 345, 346 (D.C.1993) (six-month suspension with fitness requirement for failure to cooperate and additional violations). See also Lockie, 649 A.2d at 547 (30-day suspension with fitness showing due to egregious failure to respond); Smith, 649 A.2d at 300 (30-day suspension with fitness showing due to respondent's persistent disregard for the disciplinary process). Respondent's previous discipline for failure to cooperate and his current failure to cooperate are evidence of this persistent disregard of his obligations to Bar Counsel and the Board, as well as of his disregard for the rules and warnings of the Court. The Committee submits that this pattern of disrespect for the disciplinary system is ample grounds for imposing a sanction of a 30-day suspension with a fitness requirement. [19] Respondent's arguments in mitigation are rejected. Respondent attempts to save himself by using Ms. Barclay's misfortune to his benefit. However, he failed to respond to Bar Counsel on three separate occasions prior to Ms. Barclay's injury. Further, he failed to respond to the Board's Order in a timely fashion despite being given two opportunities to do so after his wife was released from the hospital and he returned to his Springfield residence. Respondent has not offered a reasonable excuse for his misconduct, and his last-minute response to the underlying complaint and his participation in the hearing should not save the day. Respondent has yet to demonstrate that he understands his obligations to Bar Counsel, the Board, and the Court.