Suspension Proposed For Misrepresentations In Workers’ Comp Matter
An attorney’s third brush with bar discipline merits an 18-month suspension, according to a recent recommendation by the California State Bar Court Review Department.
The problems started in a personal bankruptcy
In December 2003, Hansen made misrepresentations to the United States Bankruptcy Court in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition that she and her husband jointly filed concerning the number and amount of encumbrances on her residence. In February 2004, Hansen also altered and then recorded a deed of trust so that it misstated the amount of the loan it secured. Inexplicably, OCTC did not file an NDC in Hansen I until October 28, 2010. On July 27, 2011, the Supreme Court ordered, inter alia, that Hansen be actually suspended for 30 days and placed on probation for two years as the result of a stipulation to one count of misconduct for gross negligence in committing acts of moral turpitude. No aggravating circumstances were involved. In mitigation, Hansen had no prior record of discipline, cooperated with the State Bar, and provided one good character letter and one letter describing her membership in a non-profit organization.
The probation did not go well
Between approximately September 2011 and May 2012, Hansen failed to comply with several probation conditions from Hansen I, including failing to participate in a scheduled telephonic Office of Probation meeting, provide proof of completion of six hours of MCLE-approved courses, and timely submit a quarterly report. In aggravation, Hansen had one prior record of discipline, engaged in multiple acts of misconduct, and failed to participate in the probation revocation proceeding. No mitigating factors were established. On September 25, 2012, the Supreme Court ordered Hansen’s probation revoked, and further ordered that she be actually suspended for one year and placed on probation for two years, subject to conditions.
Here the attorney made misleading statements to the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board
The WCAB imposed sanctions against Hansen and three other attorneys from her law firm after concluding that they had intentionally misled the Board, causing it to take unwarranted action…
We acknowledge that the 18-month actual suspension recommended by the hearing judge is at the severe end of the disciplinary continuum as developed in the decisional law, and it constitutes significant discipline. But we adopt her recommendation based on the totality of Hansen’s misconduct, which would justify an 18-month suspension had all of the misconduct been brought as one case. (In the Matter of Sklar, supra, 2 Cal. State Bar Ct. Rptr. at p. 619.) Indeed, Hansen’s misconduct in her three cases spans more than eight years and involves repeated probation violations and two instances of moral turpitude for making misrepresentations to separate judicial tribunals. Notably, Hansen made the misrepresentations to better her own personal position. And in the instant case, the deceptions to the WCAB occurred over many months, even after the Board warned Hansen that she was wading into deep ethical waters and facing possible sanctions. Yet she pressed on, essentially doubling down on her efforts to justify her conduct. Her presentation of half-truths and concealment of material facts significantly and adversely impacted the administration of justice. Furthermore, all of the misconduct was directly related to her practice of law before the WCAB.
(Mike Frisch)