In re: Robert W. Mance, III
ORDER
PER CURIAM
On consideration of the affidavit of Ricardo Vidal, wherein he consents to disbarment from the bar of the District of Columbia pursuant to § 12 of Rule XI of the Rules of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Governing the Bar of the District of Columbia, which affidavit has been filed with the Clerk of this court, and the report and recommendation of the Board on Professional Responsibility, it is this 26th day of October 2017,
ORDERED that the said Ricardo Vidal is hereby disbarred by consent, effective October 31, 2017. The effective date of respondent‘s disbarment shall run, for reinstatement purposes, from the date respondent files his affidavit pursuant to
The Clerk shall publish this order, but the affidavit shall not be publicly disclosed or otherwise made available except upon order of the court or upon written consent of the respondent.
The Clerk shall cause a copy of this order to be transmitted to the Chairman of the Board on Professional Responsibility and to the respondent, thereby giving him notice of the provisions of Rule XI, §§ 14 and 16, which set forth certain rights and responsibilities of disbarred attorneys and the effect of failure to comply therewith.
Wendell C. Robinson, Washington, DC, for petitioner.
Jennifer P. Lyman, Senior Assistant Disciplinary Counsel, with whom Wallace E. Shipp, Jr., Disciplinary Counsel, and Jelani C. Lowery, Senior Staff Attorney, were on the brief, for respondent.
On January 26, 2012, this court imposed a negotiated disciplinary sanction1 on petitioner Robert W. Mance III, suspending him from the practice of law in this jurisdiction for six months and conditioning his reinstatement upon proof of fitness to practice law and payment of restitution to certain clients. See In re Mance, 35 A.3d 1125, 1127 (D.C. 2012). The discipline was based on three matters, involving complainants Leonard Garrett, Wilmer Riley, and Sedley Randolph. As the Hearing Committee found, Mr. Mance “admitted to multiple violations of the disciplinary rules arising from his neglect of ... client matters” in those cases.2
Hearing Committee Number Six held a hearing on Mr. Mance‘s reinstatement petition on May 2, 2014, and issued its report and recommendation on February 22, 2016. Although the Hearing Committee found that Mr. Mance testified credibly, it recommended denial of his petition. There followed this matter, Mr. Mance‘s petition to this court for reinstatement. For the reasons that follow, we grant the petition, with conditions.
I.
“When [Disciplinary] Counsel contests a [reinstatement] petition, ... a hearing is convened after which the Hearing Committee submits a report of its findings, and recommendations to this court for a final disposition.” In re Sabo, 49 A.3d 1219, 1222 (D.C. 2012). “[T]he recommendation of the [Hearing Committee] is only a recommendation,” id. at 1224 (internal quotation marks omitted), however; and even where—as here—we are presented with a Hearing Committee report that reflects “commend[able]” and “thorough consideration,” id. at 1234, and a “conscientious ... recommendation,”3 “the determination of fitness to rеsume the practice of law rests entirely with this court.” Id. at 1224 (internal quotation marks omitted). In exercising our “ultimate authority to decide whether to grant a petition for reinstatement,” id., we “place great weight on the recommendations of the ... Hearing Committee,” id. (internal quotation marks omitted), and we accept the Hearing Committee‘s findings of fact “unless they are unsupported by substantial evidence of record.” In re Mba-Jonas, 118 A.3d 785, 787 (D.C. 2015) (internal quotation marks omitted).
A petitioner seeking reinstatement bears the burden of proof to “demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that he ... is fit to resume the practice of law.” In re Sabo, 49 A.3d at 1223 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also
(1) the nature and circumstances of the misconduct for which the attorney was disciplined; (2) whether the attorney recognizes the seriousness of the misconduct; (3) the attorney‘s conduct since discipline was imposed, including the steps taken to remedy past wrongs and prevent future ones; (4) the attorney‘s present character; and (5) the attorney‘s present qualifications and competence to practice law.
In re Roundtree, 503 A.2d 1215, 1217 (D.C. 1985).
II.
We begin our analysis by briefly describing “the nature and circumstances of the misconduct for which the attorney was disciplined,” id., and the additional misconduct the Hearing Committee considered. In the Garrett matter (Bar Docket No. 2009-D247), Mr. Mance, who was representing Mr. Garrett in a civil suit, failed to file a brief on Mr. Garrett‘s behalf or to ask for an extension of time, which resulted in the dismissal of the case for want of prosecution. See In re Mance, 35 A.3d at 1126. After Mr. Garrett filed a complaint with Disciplinary Counsel, Mr. Garrett met with Mr. Mance, at Mr. Mance‘s request, and entered into a written agreement whereby Mr. Mance agreed to pay him $4,500 (the retainer he had pаid) plus an additional $15,000 as settlement of “any issues or differences between them.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Mr. Mance did not advise Mr. Garrett to obtain the advice of outside counsel and failed to provide sufficient information for Mr. Garrett to provide informed consent. Id. Thereafter, Mr. Mance made two payments to Mr. Garrett that amounted to $900 and then ceased payment (until, as discussed below, after he had petitioned for reinstatement). Id.
The Riley matter (Bar Docket No. 2009-D369) involved Mr. Mance‘s failure, despite a court order, to produce documents (which Mr. Riley had turned over to him) in response to a request for production of documents and an order compelling production. Id. The omission led the court to impose sanctions, which included an order precluding Mr. Riley from testifying at trial, presenting exhibits at trial, and presenting evidence as to damages. Id. Mr. Mance did not file a motion to vacate or reconsider the court‘s order, and instead, after failing to respond to opposing counsel‘s motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment, represented Mr. Riley on appeal. Id. Mr. Mance did not advise Mr. Riley to seek outside counsel even though the issue on appeal involved his own failure to act on Mr. Riley‘s behalf. Id.
In the Randolph matter (Bar Docket No. 2010-D025), after representing Mr. Randolph in his criminal case, Mr. Mance failed to respond to requests by Mr. Randolрh for his case materials, forwarding the file only after Disciplinary Counsel got involved. Id. In addition, Mr. Mance‘s first attempt at forwarding the file failed because he had failed to ascertain the rules of mailing packages to the federal correctional center where Mr. Randolph was incarcerated.
Regarding the Swann matter (Bar Docket No. 2011-D219),5 Disciplinary Counsel proffered that Mr. Mance filed on
Regarding the Hemphill matter (Bar Docket No. 2011-D398), Disciplinary Counsel proffered that Mr. Mance, who had represented Mr. Hemphill in a deposition by the United States Attorney‘s Office, agreed to write a letter on Mr. Hemphill‘s behalf explaining to the Assistant United States Attorney why it would be a hardship on Mr. Hemphill to have additional funds seized from a pension owned by his wife. Mr. Mance acknowledges that he failed to communicate with Mr. Hemphill regarding the status of the letter.
As the Hearing Committee found, the foregoing instances of misconduct “involved a consistent pattern of neglect, including the failure to communicate with clients and to comply with multiple court orders, and two instances of conflict of interest.” As the Hearing Committee also noted, Mr. Mance has a history of discipline by this court, having received informal admonitions in 1996 and 2000, a thirty-day stayed suspension in 2005, and a public censure in 2009. The 1996 and 2000 informal admonitions were for failing to provide a written retainer agreement as required by Rule 1.15 (b). See In re Mance, 980 A.2d 1196, 1208 (D.C. 2009). The 2005 stayed suspension and period of probation were for Mr. Mance‘s filing of an untimely notice of appeal in his client‘s criminal case, neglect in failing to pursue a claim that some of the offenses of which the client was convicted merged, failing to communicate with the client about the appeal, and delay in withdrawing from the case after learning that the client sought to terminate his engagement. In re Mance, 869 A.2d 339, 340 (D.C. 2005). We accepted, as supported by substantial evidence, the Board on Professional Responsibility (the “Board“) finding attributing Mr. Mance‘s violations to his “overwhelming case load at the time of the events at issue.” Id. at 342 (internal quotation marks omitted).
This court imposed the 2009 public censure in an opinion in which we held that “for purposes of Rule 1.15 (d), money paid by a client as a flat fee for legal services remains the client‘s property, and counsel may not treat any portion of the money otherwise until it is earned, unless the client has agreed otherwise.” In re Mance, 980 A.2d at 1199. We determined to apply that interpretation only prospectively, however, and we adopted the Board‘s recommendation that Mr. Manсe receive a public censure for having commingled funds when he placed into his operating account a portion of a flat fee a client had paid to him, causing a delay in returning the funds when the client terminated his services, “because he did not have the funds readily available.” Id. at 1199-200. Mr. Mance also received a public censure in Maryland as reciprocal discipline, and, in 1979, received a private reprimand in South Carolina for failing to perfect an appeal.
III.
The foregoing informs our consideration of the first Roundtree factor. As to the remaining Roundtree factors, the Hearing Committee‘s primary focus was on the third Roundtree factor—specifically, on what it found to be Mr. Mance‘s failure to take adequate “steps ... to remedy past wrongs and prevent future оnes.” We address that finding in section IV below.
In our view, the other Roundtree factors weigh in Mr. Mance‘s favor. Regarding
Regarding the fourth Roundtree factor (“the attorney‘s present character“) and the fifth factor (“the attorney‘s present qualifications and competence to practice law“), the Hearing Committee credited the testimony of his character witness Antoini Jones, Esq., who was “fully aware of [Mr. Mance‘s] disciplinary record and the basis for his current suspension,” that Mr. Mance “has the competence and character to practice law.”7 Disciplinary Counsel likewise acknowledged at oral argument before us that there can be “no doubt” about Mr. Mance‘s “good intentions,” his “learning” in the law, and his legal advocacy skills.
In considering the fourth Roundtree factor, we, too, arе satisfied that Mr. Mance “is a changed individual having full appreciation of the wrongfulness of his conduct and a new determination to adhere to the high standards of integrity and legal competence which the [c]ourt requires.”8 We note that in determining to publicly censure Mr. Mance in 2009, we observed that his “prior misdeeds, while not to be dismissed, do not implicate his moral character or integrity.” In re Mance, 980 A.2d at 1208. We also noted the Board‘s finding that Mr. Mance did not “act dishonestly or attempt to misappropriate client funds.” Id. Further, the record indicates that Mr. Mance has taken three training courses since the beginning of his (now over-five-year) suspension, including a training session on the Superior Court electronic filing
IV.
That brings us to the most critical issue in this case: whether Mr. Mance has shown by clear and convincing evidence that his reinstatement is warranted in light of facts relevant to the third Roundtree factor, which requires consideratiоn of “the attorney‘s conduct since discipline was imposed, including the steps taken to remedy past wrongs and prevent future ones.” In considering this factor, the Hearing Committee acknowledged Mr. Mance‘s testimony that he took a D.C. Bar training course that, in his words, taught him that to practice effectively, he must “work at” “adherence to deadlines” and at “be[ing] more responsive to clients and ... more available to clients.” The Hearing Committee found that Mr. Mance also had “acknowledged the need to control his calendar and to not accept work he is unable to handle.” The Hearing Committee found fault, however, with Mr. Mance‘s having “failed to establish that he has taken the proactive measures necessary to address the deficiencies in his practice, including such fundamental steps as developing a practice management plan.” The Hearing Committee mentioned, for example, Mr. Mance‘s testimony that he had unsuccessfully tried to use case management/accounting software back in 2005, finding it “too complicated.” The Hearing Committee also cited Mr. Mance‘s testimony to the effect that he is “unsure of the type of office support he will require if reinstated, because he does not know what kind of client base he will have.” The Hearing Committee found that Mr. Mance “failed to demonstrate that he fully grasps the root causes of his misconduct and has taken concrete steps to address it by, for example, taking the courses or training necessary to establish his proficiency in case management.” This left the Hearing Committee with “little assurance that, if reinstated, [p]etitioner will not repeat the pattern of misconduct that led to his suspension.”
The Hearing Committee cited in addition Mr. Mance‘s payment of restitution to Messrs. Garrett, Hemphill, and Swann “only after he filed his petition for reinstatement years after his representation of these clients ended,” and his failure “to pay any restitution to Mr. Riley”9 (matters that the Hearing Committee considered as evincing Mr. Mance‘s lack of “true recognition of the seriousness of [his] misconduct” and as a negative with respect to his “steps taken to remedy [the misconduct]“). The Hearing Committee recognized, however, that this court‘s 2012 suspension order did not require Mr. Mance to pay restitution as to Mr. Riley (and Mr. Mance contended that all the fees Mr. Riley paid him had been earned for work
While we do not in any way minimize the relevance and seriousness of Mr. Mance‘s failure to make timely restitution payments, we note his explanation that his suspension caused him “significant damage ... financially.” He testified that after his suspension, his income source was mostly Social Security checks, and that it was difficult to make restitution when he was not working full-time and when he was “close to the line” on other monthly obligations.10 He acknowledged that he had bounced a number of checks in 2013, and he attributed his delayed restitution payments to “bad budgeting and bad money management.” As the Hearing Committee expressly acknowledged, this court‘s cases establish that delayed restitution is not a barrier to reinstatеment where there is an adequate explanation for the non-payment.11 The Hearing Committee found that “without more,” the delayed restitution payments “might not be a barrier to reinstatement.”
In the end, the Hearing Committee recommended against reinstatement because of Mr. Mance‘s failure to show that he has taken “concrete steps necessary to avoid similar misconduct in the future“—more specifically, his failure to show “that he understands and is prepared to implement the case management techniques necessary to control his caseload and avoid future misconduct” and his “fail[ure] to demonstrate that he fully grasps the root causes of his misconduct and has taken сoncrete steps to address it by, for example, taking the courses or training necessary to establish his proficiency in case management.” Mr. Mance‘s failure to demonstrate his proficiency in case management left the Hearing Committee with “a substantial question as to whether he will actually be able to” “install case management software programs and use them in his practice.” The Hearing Committee also found that Mr. Mance “failed to explain with any specificity how he intend[s] to manage his case load, communicate with his clients, or calendar cases so that he can respond to court orders and schedules and meet filing deadlines.”
We think it understandable that, given the financial constraints that have resulted from his suspension, and without knowing what his client base will be upon reinstatement, Mr. Mance could only (in Disciplinary Counsel‘s words) “vacillate[ ] on whether he would hire someone” and could say only that he might have “someone ... come in a couple of days a week to help [him] with file management and organizational-type things.” For the same reasons, while we acknowledge Disciplinary Counsel‘s concern that Mr. Mance has not worked out a business plan regarding his income if he resumes lаw practice, we believe he will have time to do that once he resumes practice and understands what client work will be his referral base13 and before (under the reinstatement conditions we describe below) he is permitted to resume practice as a solo practitioner.
We note Mr. Mance‘s testimony that being deprived of the ability to make a living because of his suspension, and the introspection that this caused him to undertake, have given him a “motivation [that] is different” from any he had before to avoid putting himself in a position
V.
The Hearing Committee, in recommending against reinstatement, and Disciplinary Counsel, in opposing reinstatement with conditions, emphasize this court‘s statement that “conditions on reinstatement are not a substitute for proof of fitness.” In re Sabo, 49 A.3d at 1233. They also emphasize this court‘s statement in Sabo that
We agree that the standard as explicated in Sabo is controlling. At the same time, our cases have recognized that conditions on reinstatement may be warranted in the interest of facilitating a reinstatement petitioner‘s “continued fitness in the initial period after he ... returns to the practice of law,” so as “to assure that petitioner will not commit future disciplinary violations of the kind for which he was [disciplined],” In re McConnell, 667 A.2d 94, 97 (D.C. 1995) (internal quotation marks omitted), and to “reduce the likelihood that [ ]he will commit the same or similar violations in the future.” In re Roundtree, 503 A.2d at 1218; see also In re Turner, 915 A.2d at 357.
It is helpful to review the facts of Sabo. Mr. Sabo was disbarred by consent in 2003 after he was convicted of attempted malicious wounding, a felony and “an act of moral turpitude.” 49 A.3d at 1220, 1224. He “contend[ed] that his struggle with depression and other mental health challenges took him ‘down a path, down a spiraling tube’ that brought about the events that lеd to his conviction.” Id. at 1221. After his release from prison in 2003 and intermittently thereafter (including at the time of this court‘s consideration of his petition for reinstatement), he had been receiving mental health treatment, including medication management and psychotherapy. Id. at 1221, 1230. In 2009, during a time when he “was not in psychotherapy,” id. at 1230, he was “arrested on a charge of larceny by false pretense” after an altercation with a Home Depot store clerk, “but ultimately placed on probation in a program” that he successfully completed, leading to dismissal of the charge. Id. at 1222. The Board recommended that Mr. Sabo‘s petition for reinstatement be denied, in part because it viewed the Home Deрot incident “as an indicator of [his] difficulties in dealing with stress,” and concluded that “his history of psychotherapy was ‘too intermittent and short-lived’ to support reinstatement.” Id. at 1223.
In considering the Roundtree factors, we noted that Mr. Sabo “acknowledged the seriousness of his mental illness and ... its effect on his decision-making capabilities and actions,” confirmed that his depression would be a “‘lifelong battle,‘”
In this case, we conclude, much as we did with respect to Mr. Sabo, that Mr. Mance is fit to be reinstated to the practice of law but that the conditions we havе determined to impose “will aid [him] as he restarts his legal career.” Sabo, 49 A.3d at 1233. We accept Mr. Mance‘s representation that he will take steps to control his caseload, but we think the financial pressures of maintaining a solo practice are great enough that conditions on reinstatement are appropriate to reduce the possibility that he will commit future disciplinary violations of the kind for which he was suspended. No doubt it will also be helpful for Mr. Mance to have the support of case management resources (both software and personnel resources) that group practice or employment by a law firm may bring with it, since the record establishes that he is not аdept at using case management software himself and that, in the near term, he may be unable as a solo practitioner to afford to hire the support staff he would need to utilize such a system effectively.
To be clear, we do not conclude that these things are necessary for Mr. Mance to be fit to practice; indeed, if he takes on a very small caseload (which perhaps he will do since he will have his Social Security income as a supplement to income from law practice), it should be possible for him to adhere to deadlines and be available to clients using an old-fashioned tickler system even without sophisticated case management software. But we are persuaded that these things would aid him as he resumes the practice of law.
We are satisfied that the conditions we have determined to impose will act as the “‘additional’ motivator,” id. at 1234, Mr. Mance needs to avoid any further instances of the type of misconduct that landed him in the disciplinary system and that led to the lengthy suspension he has now served. In determining to reinstate Mr. Mance subject to these conditions, we have also taken into consideration that, as we have observed before, he has a “‘lengthy and well-reputed history of providing an important service’ to the community by serving as one of the few members of the bar engaged in the practice of street crime defense.” In re Mance, 980 A.2d at 1208 (quoting In re Mance, 869 A.2d at 342 n.10).
We therefore will reinstate Mr. Mance subject to the conditions (1) that he not engage in solo practice (a restriction that, during oral argument, he indicated a willingness to accept) for a period of three years;14 (2) that, within six months before
So ordered.