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In re Scott12/15/2000
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
Before this Court adopted a rule prohibiting a disbarred or suspended lawyer from maintaining a presence or occupying an office where the practice of law is conducted, respondent Vincent Lee Scott hired a disbarred lawyer to work in his law office. Under the guise of the respondent's supervision, the disbarred lawyer subsequently engaged in acts constituting the unauthorized practice of law and which, if committed by the respondent, would have violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys at Law. For that, along with the respondent's own violations of the rules, we find the respondent guilty of attorney misconduct.
This attorney disciplinary matter is now before us for final resolution upon a Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline tendered for our approval by the respondent and the Disciplinary Commission. The respondent's admission to the bar of this state in 1990 confers our jurisdiction in this case.
The verified complaint for disciplinary action underlying the parties' agreement contains fifteen counts, pursuant to which the respondent has admitted misconduct. The gravamen of the respondent's own direct misconduct is that he agreed to represent various clients in criminal and civil matters, then failed to take sufficient action or any action at all on their behalves, failed to keep his clients adequately informed as to the status of their legal matters, and failed to refund to them unearned fees or return to them case file materials to which they were entitled. As to these counts, we find misconduct as charged.
Pursuant to allegations contained in Count II of the verified complaint, the parties agree that in March 1996, the respondent hired a former lawyer disbarred by this Court in 1988 to work as his paralegal and, later, as "manager" of his law office. It is agreed that the respondent hired the disbarred lawyer to assist him in developing his family law practice, and that the respondent viewed himself as the disbarred lawyer's supervisor, although he did not actually supervise the disbarred lawyer's activities or ever develop an express or written description of the disbarred lawyer's duties. Under Counts II, IV, V, X, XI, XIII, and XIV, it is agreed that in this employment capacity the disbarred lawyer "counseled" or served as the main contact with clients regarding various legal matters, including a dissolution, a petition for post-conviction relief, a claim alleging violation of civil rights, an auto accident case, a claim by purchasers of real estate alleging latent defects, a personal injury case, and a discrimination claim. Under each of these counts, the respondent and the disbarred lawyer neglected the clients' cases by failing to file or adequately pursue the contemplated causes of action and/or by failing to communicate adequately with the clients about their cases.
Current law prohibits any disbarred or suspended lawyer from maintaining a presence or occupying an office where the practice of law is conducted. Admis.Disc.R. 23(26)(b), effective February 1, 1998. A person suspended for more than six months or disbarred shall take such action as is necessary to cause the removal of any indicia of lawyer, counselor at law, legal assistant, law clerk or similar title. Id. However, the respondent hired the disbarred lawyer in March of 1996, before adoption of the current rule.
Professional Conduct Rule 5.5(b) provides that a lawyer shall not assist a person who is not a member of the bar in the performance of activity that constitutes the unauthorized practice of law. The rule does not prohibit a lawyer from employing the services of paraprofessionals and delegating
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