My Old Kentucky License
The Kentucky Supreme Court has held that an attorney is eligible for license restoration
Oberdorff was admitted as a member of the Kentucky bar on August 18, 2000. Previously, Oberdorff had practiced law in Ohio for twenty years, having been admitted in 1980. Oberdorff’s purpose in becoming a member of the Kentucky bar was to expand his Ohio legal practice into Kentucky. However, the expected business did not develop and Oberdorff never acquired any clients in Kentucky. Consequently, Oberdorff stopped paying his dues as mandated by SCR 3.050 and failed to comply with the continuing legal education requirements of SCR 3.645 (previously SCR 3.669). Accordingly, Oberdorff was suspended from the practice of law in Kentucky on February 17, 2010.
In the interim, Oberdorff continued to practice law in Illinois until late 2016, when he took a position with Pope Flynn, LLC in South Carolina. When Oberdorff began the licensing process in South Carolina, he learned that he could not sit for the South Carolina bar exam while suspended in another jurisdiction. To clear this impediment to his sitting for the South Carolina bar exam, Oberdorff filed an application for restoration of his membership in the Kentucky Bar.
Bar Counsel had opposed the request but
We agree with the Board that SCR 2.013 does not expressly state a time frame within which an attorney must identify his intent to practice law in the Commonwealth. While Oberdorff referenced the possibility of his practicing law in Kentucky before the Committee and Board, his intention to practice should his motion for-restoration be granted is far from definitive. However, we agree with the Board that Oberdorff’s representation about his intent to practice law in Kentucky is sufficient to meet the requirements of SCR 2.013. While Oberdorff seeks to obtain restoration to pursue licensing in South Carolina, this goal is not mutually exclusive with Oberdorff’s newfound interest in practicing law in Kentucky.
He must sit for the bar exam. (Mike Frisch)