Bad Bet

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has denied reinstatement of an attorney who had resigned in the face of serious allegations in 2011

Petitioner was initially admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1982. This Court has twice before disciplined Petitioner for mishandling client trust funds. First, in 2000, we suspended Petitioner’s license for thirty (30) days; State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass’n v. Taylor (Taylor I), 2000 OK 35, ¶ 36, 4 P.3d 1242, 1256; then three years later, we imposed a public reprimand for similar misconduct. State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass’n v. Taylor (Taylor II), 2003 OK 56, ¶¶ 15, 24, 71 P.3d 18, 26, 29.¹

In 2011, the General Counsel for the Oklahoma Bar Association alleged that Petitioner misappropriated approximately $80,000 of client funds to gamble at casinos. The Bar stated that the money Petitioner stole from the account was from settlement funds awarded to a widowed client after her husband had been killed in a motorcycle accident. Petitioner allegedly removed the settlement funds incrementally and gambled away the entire amount on slot machines. After spending all of the money, Petitioner told his client what he had done and then pressured her into signing an affidavit characterizing the improper taking as “a loan.” Petitioner informed the client that if she did not sign the affidavit, or if she reported him to the Bar, he would be disbarred and thus unable to pay her back at all. Afterwards, Petitioner reimbursed the stolen funds to the trust account with money partially provided to him by his mother.

His efforts to reacquire the Court’s confidence fell short

In August 2017, Petitioner applied for reinstatement following the requisite five-year waiting period. RGDP 8.1(c). After conducting its evidentiary hearing, the Trial Panel found that while Petitioner possessed sufficient competency, he had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law while resigned and had “utterly failed” to show the moral character warranting reinstatement. Trial Panel Rep., pp. 3-5, Mar. 26, 2018. The report concluded:

Regrettably, the sum of evidence, including the serious personal and financial harm occasioned on his wife specifically, shows that his continued gambling is a priority which exceeds his desire to regain his license to practice law.

 He engaged in unauthorized federal court practice

 Regarding Petitioner’s unauthorized practice of law in this federal case, the Trial Panel stated that Petitioner “was between the Devil and The Deep, Blue Sea.” Trial Panel Rep., p. 4, Mar. 26, 2018. We disagree. No outside force prevented Petitioner from filing a truthful, timely notice of his suspension. It was Petitioner’s dishonesty and delay — no one else’s — that landed him and his client in this predicament. Petitioner’s behavior presents clear rule violations. This Court will not simply ignore Petitioner’s lack of candor and noncompliance, particularly because he should have been extraordinarily careful to follow even the most minor of rules while resigned. See In re Reinstatement of DeBacker, 2008 OK 17, ¶ 23 n.23, 184 P.3d 506, 515, n.23.

The Court found him a bad bet

 Petitioner’s moral character presents a central issue in this matter, primarily because Petitioner has produced little evidence to show how he has utilized the past six (6) years to rehabilitate himself. For many years, Petitioner played only live poker and was able to engage in this activity with moderate control. Eventually, however, Petitioner began playing slot machines and got hooked. He then started dipping into his client’s trust account to fuel this addiction. Thereafter, in order to restore what he had improperly taken, Petitioner strapped himself and his family with oppressive debt. Instead of endeavoring to climb out of this hole, Petitioner dug himself and his family deeper still. Petitioner currently owes considerable sums of money to the Internal Revenue Service, the Oklahoma Tax Commission, and providers of student loans for the benefit of his children.

This Court has reinstated applicants who, like Petitioner, took client funds to pay for gambling, but only after the applicant established clearly and convincingly that a re-offense was not likely. For example, in In re Reinstatement of Elias, this Court noted, “It is significant that Elias has put great efforts into placing himself in a position to be considered for readmission by making restitution and clearing his debts.”1988 OK 86, ¶ 10, 759 P.2d 1021, 1024. Likewise, we have reinstated other applicants who discontinued their injurious gambling behaviors and otherwise demonstrated consistent life changes illustrating the moral character warranting reinstatement. In re Reinstatement of Clifton, 1990 OK 15, ¶¶ 3-5, 787 P.2d 862, 862-63; In re Reinstatement of Snodgrass, 1933 OK 592, ¶¶ 11-13, 26 P.2d 756, 758. Conversely, Petitioner has neither cleared his debts nor gained control over his addictive behavior….

 We must consider Petitioner’s ongoing addiction to gambling, and how that addiction may impugn the interests of the public, the courts, and the legal profession. At times, Petitioner has declared that he is finished gambling, yet before the Trial Panel he testified otherwise:

I’m not saying I won’t ever, in twenty (20) years, go to Vegas. I can’t tell you that. But my present plan today is not to gamble anywhere, not online, not for play money, not — because I’ve shut that all down. My wife watches me.

Trial Panel Hr’g Tr., p. 386, Jan. 10, 2018. Petitioner’s verbal assurances that he will not gamble again are insufficient to meet his high burden of showing he is fit to practice law. Likewise, the Court will not place the responsibility on Petitioner’s wife to “keep an eye on him” and manage his tendencies for the foreseeable future. The gambling behaviors are Petitioner’s problem, and he must be the one to remedy them before the Court will favor reinstatement.

Equally troubling, Petitioner does not appear to fully appreciate the wrongfulness of his prior misconduct and the resulting disrepute upon the legal profession. The Trial Panel asked Petitioner if he believed he possessed the good moral character to warrant reinstatement, to which he plainly replied: “Yes, I think I always have.” Id. at 341 (emphasis added). Unfortunately, we disagree. Petitioner dismisses the gravity of his dishonesty and in doing so minimizes the corrosive impact of his decisions on clients and family members left in his wake.

Contrary to accepting responsibility, at the reinstatement hearing Petitioner attempted to recant his prior waiver of rights to contest the Bar’s allegations by denying certain portions of their findings. Specifically, Petitioner testified that he did not coerce or pressure his former client to sign the cover-up affidavit after he siphoned off her money. To now switch his position on this critical aspect of the original complaint shows Petitioner possesses neither remorse nor a willingness to stand by his word and take responsibility for his wrongdoing.

Conlusion

The combination of Petitioner’s ongoing addiction, significant debt, and failure to accept responsibility indicate the potential for greater malfeasance, harm to clients, and disrespect upon all who practice law in Oklahoma. Upon thorough review, we find Petitioner has engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, lacks sufficient competency, and does not currently possess the moral character befitting membership to the Bar. Petitioner has failed to meet his burden by clear and convincing evidence. Therefore, his request for reinstatement is denied. Pursuant to Rule 11.1(c) of the RGDP, Petitioner is ordered to pay costs associated with this proceeding in the amount of $148.25. 5 O.S.2011, ch. 1, app. 1-A. Petitioner must wait at least one (1) year from this denial before applying again for reinstatement. RGDP 11.1(e).

(Mike Frisch)