Employment History Issues And Non-Cooperation Leads To Admission Denial
A Columbia Law School graduate has been denied admission by the Ohio Supreme Court
Applicant, Peter Boya Lu, of Kennewick, Washington, is a 2018 graduate of Columbia Law School. Lu passed the New York bar exam, and in August 2019, he was admitted to practice law in Washington by transferring his Uniform Bar Examination (“UBE”) score. In November 2021, he applied for admission to the practice of law in Ohio by transferred UBE score, see Gov.Bar R. I(11), and received a certificate to practice law in Ohio pending admission, see Gov.Bar R. I(19).
In Ohio
Two members of the Akron Bar Association Admissions Committee interviewed Lu in August 2022, and the committee issued a final report recommending approval of Lu’s character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law. The Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness, however, invoked its authority, sua sponte, to investigate Lu’s character, fitness, and moral qualifications. See Gov.Bar R. I(12)(B)(2)(e). The board recommends that we disapprove Lu’s application and permit him to reapply for admission no earlier than January 2024. For the following reasons, we adopt the board’s recommendation.
The issue
In his application for admission to the practice of law in Ohio, Lu disclosed that he had worked as a deputy prosecuting attorney at the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office in Kennewick, Washington, from August 2019 until February 2021. When completing the character and fitness questionnaire as part of the investigation performed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (“NCBE”), Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller reported that Lu had left the prosecutor’s office for a different job, that he would not rehire Lu, and that he either did not know or had no opinion on whether Lu possesses the character and fitness necessary for the practice of law. Miller stated that he had explained to Lu that he would not rehire Lu for that position or recommend Lu for a similar position but that he would be a reference for Lu for a different job. Miller additionally provided, “I gave a favorable recommendation to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office and he [Lu] was hired. While Mr. Lu was employed there I became aware of a situation in the State of Oregon which may have resulted in a criminal investigation.”
In his application, Lu also disclosed that he had been employed by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office in New York from September 2018 until June 2019. When completing the NCBE character and fitness questionnaire, that office’s representative indicated not knowing or having no opinion on whether the office would rehire Lu or whether Lu possesses the character and fitness necessary for the practice of law.
Lu’s application further indicated that he had unsuccessfully sought admission to the Utah bar based on his disclosure that his employment with the Salt Lake City Attorney’s Office in September and October 2021 was “no longer practical given [his] ineligibility to obtain practice pending admission under Utah bar rules.” Lu provided no further information or explanation regarding this statement made in his application.
Notable was his non-participation in the Ohio process
In this case, Lu’s application for admission to the practice of law in Ohio raises legitimate questions regarding his employment history and his purported ineligibility to practice law in another jurisdiction. Whether the answers to these questions provide a basis for disapproval of Lu’s application remains undetermined because he has failed to cooperate with the proceedings before the board. This evasiveness in and of itself constitutes a basis for disapproval of Lu’s application. See Gov.Bar R. I(13)(D)(3). Based on the facts described above, we agree with the board’s finding that Lu has failed to carry his burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he currently possesses the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications to practice law in Ohio.
We therefore disapprove Lu’s pending application for admission to the practice of law in Ohio but permit him to reapply for admission in January 2024.
(Mike Frisch)