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In re Griffith12/9/2003
form of misrepresentation, a serious ethical violation by itself. What makes the conduct even more serious is its intentional nature. Despite having obtained evidence to the contrary, the respondent permitted Gonsalves to provide answers to interrogatories that were false. He also failed to produce, despite a specific request for medical records, the records he had obtained from Dr. Chowdri. The fact that the respondent may have believed that he had a duty under G. L. c. 111, § 70F, to protect Pina's HIV condition while seeking hedonic damages on Pina's behalf is not relevant. The statute did not preclude the respondent from disclosing Dr. Chowdri's name, or the identity of St. Luke's Hospital, and the respondent does not argue to the contrary. The fact that the respondent withheld the information because he believed the disclosure of Pina's HIV condition was privileged under the statute is also of no consequence. He should have objected to the discovery requests and asserted a privilege, leaving to the judge the resolution of any issues concerning the application of § 70F.
Further, the respondent's conduct was also quite serious because of its potential to obstruct justice. The respondent's actions threatened the integrity of the trial because they prevented the judge from fashioning complete and appropriate preliminary instructions to the jury and also may have affected the judge's evidentiary rulings on the issue of damages. It is of significance that our decision to impose a suspension finds support in the recommendations of the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions § 6.12 (1986) (recommending suspension when lawyer knows that false statements are being submitted to the court or that material information is improperly being withheld, and takes no remedial action, and causes injury or potential injury to party, or causes an adverse or potentially adverse effect on the legal proceeding).
4. We come to the length of the suspension.
Weighing the serious misconduct that occurred against the factors we find mitigating, we conclude that a one-year suspension should be imposed. As to mitigation, we agree with bar counsel that the respondent's obsession with the case and the contentious nature of the proceedings are not mitigating factors. See Matter of McCarthy, 416 Mass. 423, 429-430 n.3 (1993) (noting that pressure of litigation, including getting "caught up" in a "heated and chaotic hearing," does not justify misconduct); Matter of Neitlich, 413 Mass. 416, 422 (1992) (rejecting respondent's argument that circumstance of contentious nature of proceeding should be factored in determining sanction). Litigation is often contentious and emotions and stress are natural. Lawyers, nonetheless, despite the tension of litigation, are always responsible for maintaining the ethical standards of the profession, Borman v. Borman, 378 Mass. 775, 787 (1979), and to that end, they must retain composure and objectivity. We also reject as mitigating opposing counsel's independent failure to discover the requested information. See Matter of Finnerty, 418 Mass. 821, 829 (1994) (finding immaterial that opposing counsel had stipulated to misrepresented valuation of law practice). We also do not consider mitigating the respondent's claim that "novel issues regarding the nature and scope of the statutory protection under G. L. c. 111, § 70F," counseled against disclosure. As previously has been explained, the statute does not prohibit the disclosure of the identity of a treating physician or the name of a hospital in which a person had been admitted, and the respondent had lawful procedures, had he chosen to invoke them, to raise the matter of privilege.
While we consider the length of time
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