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Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Pennington6/22/2005
and other conclusions of law. We disagree and overrule this exception. Judge Platt heard the witnesses testify and had the unique opportunity to assess their credibility. Although he rejected reliance on advice of counsel as an affirmative defense to whether the Rules of Professional Conduct had been violated, it is not necessarily inconsistent to find that respondent's contact with Mr. Wiggins was a mitigating factor.
Bar Counsel also excepts to Judge Platt's conclusion that respondent displayed a high degree of remorse for her actions. At the hearing before the Circuit Court, respondent did not express remorse for her misrepresentations and deceitful conduct. Respondent testified during cross-examination that "I am saying I did not want to mislead the clients in any way, shape, form or fashion." She also testified that "I don't believe, Ms. [Bar Counsel], that I have told any untruths to the clients. So that's it." Her testimony constituted a continued denial of responsibility. She repeatedly denied any dishonesty. We agree with Bar Counsel and grant the exception.
III. Sanction
We turn now to the appropriate sanction. Bar Counsel maintains that respondent should be disbarred. We agree.
In fashioning the appropriate sanction to be imposed, we are guided by our interest in protecting the public and the public's confidence in the legal profession. Attorney Grievance v. Powell, 369 Md. 462, 474, 800 A.2d 782, 789 (2002). As we have often stated, the purpose of attorney disciplinary proceedings is not to punish the lawyer, but to protect the public as well as to deter other lawyers from engaging in similar misconduct. Attorney Grievance v. Ellison, 384 Md. 688, 714, 867 A.2d 259, 274 (2005). The public is protected when sanctions are imposed that are commensurate with the nature and gravity of the violations and the intent with which they were committed. Id.
Although respondent violated Rules 1.2, 1.4 (a) and (b), 1.7 (b), and 1.16 (a)(1), it is the violations of Rules 8.4(c) and (d), and the conduct underlying those violations, that lead the Court to conclude that disbarrment is the appropriate sanction. To reiterate, Rule 8.4 (c) and (d) provide as follows:
"It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:
(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation;
(d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice[.]"
Respondent's "misrepresentation " and "deceitful conduct" in concealing the true account of how she mishandled the Butlers' claims, falsifying a supposed settlement of those claims with the insurer, intentionally misrepresenting matters in negotiations with third-party health care providers to reduce their charges to the Butlers, and concealing from the Butlers the facts that might have supported lodging a professional negligence claim against respondent, implicate the core responsibilities of truth and honesty expected of attorneys.
As Judge Battaglia wrote for the Court in Attorney Grievance v. Angst, 369 Md. 404, 420, 800 A.2d 747, 757 (2002):
"We recently iterated the unparalleled importance of honesty in the practice of law:
"`Unlike matters relating to competency, diligence and the like, intentional dishonest conduct is closely entwined with the most important matters of basic character to such a degree as to make intentional dishonest conduct by a lawyer almost beyond excuse. Honesty and dishonesty are, or are not, present in an attorney's character.'
"See Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Lane, 367 Md. 633, 646, 790 A.2d 621, 628 (2002) (quoting Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Vander
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