Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Md. v. Runan Zhang
| Decision Date | 21 July 2014 |
| Docket Number | Misc. Docket AG No. 11, Sept. Term, 2013. |
| Citation | 100 A.3d 1112,440 Md. 128 |
| Parties | ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. Runan ZHANG. |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Lydia E. Lawless, Assistant Bar Counsel (Glenn M. Grossman, Bar Counsel, Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland) for Petitioner.
Joseph A. Hennessey, Esq. (Beins, Goldberg & Hennessey, LLP of Chevy Chase, MD) for Respondent.
ARGUED BEFORE: BARBERA, C.J., HARRELL, BATTAGLIA, GREENE, ADKINS, McDONALD and WATTS, JJ.
This attorney discipline proceeding concerns a Maryland lawyer who, among other things: (1) represented her niece in an annulment/divorce matter in Virginia even though she was not licensed to practice law in Virginia and even though a conflict of interest existed due to the lawyer's representation of her niece's husband in an immigration matter; (2) provided incompetent representation and advanced a ground for annulment without conducting adequate research or speaking to her niece; (3) authorized co-counsel to sign settlement agreements on behalf of her niece despite failing to advise her niece of the agreements and to obtain her consent; (4) misrepresented her niece's ability to communicate in English and her consent to the terms of the settlement agreements; (5) held herself out as specializing in immigration and corporate law; and (6) concealed her role in her niece's representation from the trial court.
Runan Zhang (“Zhang”), Respondent, a member of the Bar of Maryland, represented her niece, Yuxuan Zhang (“Wife”), in Wife's annulment and subsequent divorce case, in the Prince William County Circuit Court in Virginia (“the Virginia Court”), against Daji Song (“Husband”), whom Zhang represented in an immigration matter. Husband filed a complaint against Zhang with the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland (“the Commission”), Petitioner.
On April 15, 2013, on the Commission's behalf, Bar Counsel filed in this Court a “Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action” against Zhang, charging her with violating Maryland Lawyers' Rules of Professional Conduct (“MLRPC”) 1.1 (Competence), 1.2 (Scope of Representation), 1.4 (Communication), 1.7 (Conflict of Interest: General Rule), 3.7 (Lawyer as Witness), 4.1 (Truthfulness in Statements to Others), 8.4(c) (Dishonesty, Fraud, Deceit, or Misrepresentation), 8.4(d) (), and 8.4(a) (Violating the MLRPC). On May 28, 2013, Bar Counsel filed in this Court an “Amended Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action” to add charges that Zhang violated MLRPC 1.16 (Declining or Terminating Representation), 3.1 (Meritorious Claims and Contentions), 5.5 (Unauthorized Practice of Law), and 7.4 (Communication of Fields of Practice), as well as the corresponding Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct (“VRPC”) and District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct (“DCRPC”).1
On April 17, 2013, this Court designated the Honorable Michael John Algeo (“the hearing judge”) of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County to hear this attorney discipline proceeding. On August 29, 2013, the hearing judge conducted a hearing. On October 24, 2013, the hearing judge filed in this Court findings of fact and conclusions of law, concluding that Zhang violated MLRPC 1.1, 1.2(a), 1.4(a), 1.7(a), 1.16(a), 3.1, 3.7(a), 4.1(a), 5.5(a), 7.4(a), 8.4(c), 8.4(d), and 8.4(a).2
On May 6, 2014, we heard oral argument. For the below reasons, we disbar Zhang.
In his opinion, the hearing judge found the following facts, which we summarize.
On June 21, 2000, this Court admitted Zhang to the Bar of Maryland. Zhang maintains a solo practice, The Law Offices of Runan Zhang, with offices in Rockville, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Zhang's website states that she specializes in immigration and corporate practice, and that she practices family law in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia.
On April 10, 2010, Wife, Zhang's niece, a non-United States citizen, married Husband, a United States citizen, in Fairfax, Virginia. On April 21, 2010, Zhang filed a Form I–130 (Petition for Alien Relative), with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) on Husband's behalf for Wife's benefit. From April 2010 until she withdrew her appearance on November 26, 2010, Zhang represented Husband in the immigration matter.
By November 2010, Husband and Wife had separated, and Wife wished to pursue an annulment of the marriage. In November 2010, Zhang assisted Wife in drafting a complaint for annulment that Wife could file pro se in the Virginia Court. Zhang was not a member of the Bar of Virginia and, accordingly, asked her colleague, Diana Metcalf (“Metcalf”), “to serve as co-counsel.” Metcalf is a member of both the Bar of Maryland and the Bar of Virginia, and had shared office space with Zhang in Rockville, Maryland since approximately 2003.
On November 11, 2010, Zhang and Metcalf agreed: (1) that they would represent Wife as co-counsel; and (2) that Metcalf would move for Zhang's admission to the Virginia Court pro hac vice. An agreement memorializing those two points was drafted but not executed. At the beginning of the representation, Zhang provided Wife's e-mail address to Metcalf, but advised that Wife did not fluently speak English, and that Metcalf would thus be unable to directly communicate with Wife. Zhang assumed the responsibility of directly communicating with Wife. In reliance on Zhang's advisement concerning Wife's inability to fluently speak English, Metcalf had no direct contact with Wife from November 2010, when she was first retained, until March 1, 2011.
On November 15, 2010, Zhang recognized that she had a conflict of interest due to her representation of Husband in the immigration matter, so she did not enter her appearance in the annulment matter. Instead of resolving the conflict, Zhang deliberately and consciously chose to continue to act as counsel in all matters except for entering her appearance in the annulment matter and disclosing the representation to the Virginia Court. On November 18, 2010, Wife, pro se, filed in the Virginia Court a Complaint for Annulment, which had been prepared by Zhang on Wife's behalf. Although Zhang had prepared the complaint for annulment, Wife filed the complaint for annulment pro se in an attempt to conceal from the Virginia Court Zhang's conflict of interest and role as Wife's counsel. The complaint for annulment contained allegations of immigration fraud as to the marriage and the Petition for Alien Relative that Zhang had filed on Husband's behalf.
On December 10, 2010, Husband, through his attorney Leon S. Demsky (“Demsky”), filed a demurrer to the complaint for annulment. On January 7, 2011, Zhang, Metcalf, and Demsky appeared in the Virginia Court for a hearing, and Metcalf entered her appearance as Wife's counsel. At some point before the hearing, Zhang and Metcalf had negotiated an agreement (“the January Agreement”) with Husband and Demsky. The January Agreement provided that Husband would withdraw the demurrer, Wife would amend the complaint for annulment, and the parties would seek only an annulment, not monetary or other equitable relief. Based on Zhang's assurances that Wife had consented to the January Agreement's terms, Metcalf signed the January Agreement on Wife's behalf. Although Zhang assured Metcalf that Wife had consented to the terms of the January Agreement, in actuality, Zhang had not discussed the terms of the January Agreement with Wife before its execution.
After execution of the January Agreement, the parties could not agree on the ground for the annulment. As a result, Husband, through Demsky, filed a second demurrer. Meanwhile, Zhang, who was acting as Wife's immigration attorney, arranged for Wife to obtain a visa to travel from China to the United States to participate at trial.
On February 9, 2011, Zhang conducted legal research and prepared an amended complaint for annulment and an opposition to the second demurrer, and offered to Metcalf to file the pleadings under Metcalf's name or Wife's name. On February 10, 2011, with Metcalf's permission, Zhang signed Metcalf's name to the opposition, which she filed in the Virginia Court. On February 16, 2011, Metcalf filed in the Virginia Court the amended complaint for annulment.
On February 17, 2011, Michael W. Lu (“Lu”), Demsky's co-counsel, e-mailed Zhang to explore potential settlement of the annulment matter. Lu suggested that an annulment be pursued on the grounds of misunderstanding and mutual mistake based on the circumstance: “that Wife, due to immigration issues, had been unable to return to the United States following the marriage to complete the marriage ceremonies, and that while the parties had registered for marriage, the marriage was never consummated.” As Wife's “legal counsel,” Zhang e-mailed Lu that mutual misunderstanding and mutual mistake were not acceptable grounds for the annulment; Zhang instead suggested that the parties pursue an annulment based on an alleged medical condition of Husband, namely, impotency. As of February 17, 2011, when the e-mail exchange between Zhang and Lu occurred, Zhang had never discussed with Wife whether the couple had engaged in marital relations, and had no basis to pursue an annulment based on impotency.3 Zhang and Lu eventually agreed that Husband would pay $1,500 for a “global settlement” and “admit he has an impotency problem.” On February 17, 2011, at 6:25 p.m., Zhang forwarded to Metcalf a copy of her e-mail correspondence with Lu with the message: “We may need to sign an agreement in court tomorrow.”
On the morning of February 18, 2011, Metcalf appeared in the Virginia Court to argue in opposition to the second demurrer. Metcalf had not read the e-mail that Zhang had sent the previous evening, and thus was not aware that any settlement discussions had occurred between Zhang and Lu. Approximately fifteen minutes before...
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Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Md. v. Zhang
... 440 Md. 128 100 A.3d 1112 ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. Runan ZHANG. Misc. Docket AG No. 11, Sept. Term, 2013. Court of Appeals of Maryland. July 21, 2014 Reconsideration Denied Aug. 27, 2014 ... ...