2014 Investigative Summary 1

Investigation of Alleged Failure to Maintain Active Bar Membership; Unauthorized Practice of Law; Failure to Accurately Certify Bar Membership
Status; Failure to Keep the Client Informed; Failure to Comply with DOJ Rules and Regulations; Misrepresentations to the Court

While verifying component attorney re-certifications, a DOJ component learned that for most of a calendar year, a DOJ attorney had been removed as a member of his state Bar, and was not authorized to practice law, because he failed to re-register and pay his annual registration fee.

The component also learned that during the period the DOJ attorney was removed, while he was not authorized to practice law, the DOJ attorney filed pleadings in three district courts and signed a Department bar re-certification form inaccurately stating that he was an active member of the Bar and authorized to practice law when he was not. After being informed by his component of his removal from the Bar, the DOJ attorney re-registered with his Bar, paid the registration fee, and was reinstated. 

OPR conducted an investigation and found that the DOJ attorney received two notices at his residence from the Bar about his failure to register, yet the DOJ attorney took no action. OPR found that after the Bar sent him a third notice, which informed him that he had been removed as an active lawyer and was not authorized to practice law, he logged on to the Bar's website but logged off without re-registering or paying his delinquent registration fee.

OPR found that the DOJ attorney took no action to rectify the removal from the Bar until ten months later, when his component informed him that he had been removed and was not an active member of the Bar. OPR found that prior to executing the Department's bar re-certification form, an annual Department requirement certifying that he was an active member of at least one state bar, the DOJ attorney took no steps to verify that he was an active member of the Bar. 

OPR concluded that because the DOJ attorney was removed from the Bar for most of a calendar year and did nothing to rectify his removal for ten months after the Bar notified him of the removal, he engaged in professional misconduct in intentional violation of his obligation pursuant to law and Department policy to at all times be authorized to practice law by maintaining an active bar membership in at least one state bar.

OPR also concluded that the DOJ attorney engaged in professional misconduct in intentional violation of his obligation not to engage in the unauthorized practice of law. OPR also concluded that by inaccurately certifying on the Department's bar re-certification form that he was an active member of the Bar, the DOJ attorney engaged in professional misconduct in intentional violation of the obligation imposed by the Department to accurately certify his bar membership status.

In addition, OPR concluded that the DOJ attorney engaged in professional misconduct in intentional violation of bar rules relating to candor to the court by sending letters to three district judges in which the DOJ attorney filed pleadings, disclosing the fact that his bar membership had lapsed but misrepresenting the reasons for the lapse. 

Upon completion of its investigation, OPR referred the results of its investigation to the DOJ attorney's component for consideration of appropriate discipline. The component proposed discipline, which was referred to the Office of Attorney Recruitment and Management (OARM) for a discipline decision. OARM imposed a 30-day suspension without  pay and authorized OPR to refer its findings to the state bar. OPR referred its findings of professional misconduct to the appropriate state bar disciplinary authority.