Opinion ID: 2009876
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Yang Matter

Text: The fourth matter concerns Westby's interactions with Linda Miller, an attorney acting on behalf of Sa Yee Yang. The referee found that before Westby was suspended from the practice of law, an attorney in Westby's law office assisted Yang in changing the legal name of his adopted daughter. This work was completed in June 1998. Yang later sought an amended birth certificate and consulted Miller on this matter in 1999. Miller believed that Westby had the original birth certificate because Yang told Miller that Westby had done the adoption and name change. Miller therefore called Westby in October 1999 and requested the original certificate. Westby testified that she told Miller that the Juvenile Court might have the certificate and that Westby would check. Westby also testified that she learned from the court clerk that the Yang file was not at the Juvenile Court. Westby did not deliver the certificate and Miller testified that Westby did not return her telephone calls. Miller subsequently filed an ethics complaint with the OLPR in January 2000. The referee found that because neither Yang nor anyone else provided Westby with the original birth certificate, Westby's failure to respond to Miller's request for the certificate did not violate the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct. The Director does not contest the referee's findings and the Yang matter is not before us.