|
Employment of Disbarred Attorney
Q: A former colleague of mine ran into some problems with the State
Bar, and he gave up his license to practice in the face of a pending disciplinary
proceeding. He was a good attorney, though, and I would like to have him assist
me in my practice. Can I do that?
A: The relationship between a licensed attorney working with a former attorney
who resigned from the State Bar with disciplinary charges pending is exhaustively
regulated. Don't do it without studying Rule 1-311 of the California Rules
of Professional Conduct.
Rule 1-311 begins with the proposition that an attorney "shall not employ,
associate professionally with, or aid a person the [attorney] knows or reasonably
should know is a disbarred, suspended, resigned, or involuntarily inactive
member" to perform a series of tasks, most of which can be summarized
as those constituting the practice of law. More detail as to the "don'ts"
are found at Rule 1-311(B) (i.e., no consulting with clients, no appearing
in court, no handling client funds, etc.). Rule 1-300(C) allows employment
for research, drafting or clerical activities, and provides a partial list
of the "dos."
The underlying theme is actually rather simple. The resigned attorney is
not an attorney. As a consequence, he will not be allowed to do anything that
the other non-attorney personnel of a law office are not permitted to do,
or to be compensated in any way other than non-attorneys are allowed to be
compensated.
The employer must notify the State Bar prior to the time of employment, giving
assurances of compliance with the "don'ts," and providing a "full
description of such person's current bar status." Perhaps a larger impediment
to the relationship, however, is the fact that a similar notice must be "served"
on clients whose files the former attorney will be working on (and before
he actually does so), and a copy of the notice and proofs of service must
be kept for future reference. The State Bar must be notified when the former
attorney's employment is terminated as well.
This column is intended to be informal and nonauthoritative, and does
not represent the position of the San Diego County Bar Association. The discussion
does not apply to everyone, and you should retain legal counsel to assist
with your individual circumstances.
|
