Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Md. v. Joseph, Misc. Docket AG No. 11
Decision Date | 27 October 2011 |
Docket Number | Misc. Docket AG No. 11 |
Parties | ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. JOEL DAVID JOSEPH |
Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
No. AG 11, September Term, 2010, Opinion by Greene, J.
ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE - Disbarment was the appropriate sanction for an attorney who engaged in professional misconduct, in violation of MRPC 3.3(a)(1) and 8.4(c) and (d), when he intentionally misrepresented his residency status in applications for pro hac vice admissions to California state and federal courts, as well as third parties.
Opinion by Greene, J.
*Murphy, J., now retired, participated in the hearing and conference of this case while an active member of this Court; after being recalled pursuant to the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3A, he also participated in the decision and adoption of this opinion.
Pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-751,1 the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland ("Petitioner"), acting through Bar Counsel, filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action against Joel David Joseph ("Respondent"), charging him with professional misconduct arising out of representations made to the California Bar and third persons, regarding his residency in connection with applications for appearance pro hac vice in California's state and federal courts. Petitioner charged Respondent with violating Rules 3.3(a)(1),2 8.1(b),3 and 8.4(c) and (d)4 of the Maryland Lawyers' Rules of ProfessionalConduct ("MRPC"). In accordance with Maryland Rule 16-752(a),5 we referred the matter to the Honorable Joseph A. Dugan, Jr. of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, to conduct an evidentiary hearing and to render findings of fact and recommend conclusions of law. Judge Dugan held an evidentiary hearing on September 23, 2010, and in accordancewith Maryland Rule 16-757(c)6 rendered the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Respondent, Joel David Joseph, was admitted to the Maryland Bar on April 1, 1981. He is self-employed as an attorney and also works for the Made in U.S.A. Foundation, which he founded. He has a part-time "national practice" and has been admitted pro hac vice in 25 different jurisdictions, mostly federal courts, across the United States. In March 2007, Respondent contacted the Law Offices of Robert M. Moss, the law firm of a solo practitioner, located in Santa Monica, California. He spoke with Moss's office administrator and paralegal assistant, Suzanne Brewer. As the hearing judge recounted, On March 23, 2007, Respondent and Moss entered into an Agreement to worktogether on two cases: Wartell v. United States and Pribyl v. K-2. Respondent already had retainer agreements with the plaintiffs in both cases.
The Wartell case was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. A document entitled, "Application of Non-Resident Attorney to Appear in a Specific Case" was prepared and signed by Respondent, under the penalty of perjury, on or about May 10, 2007. The Application indicated that Respondent's "out-of-state business information" was as follows: Law Offices of Joel D. Joseph, 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 300, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. It also contained the following statement: The Application indicated that Respondent was barred only in Maryland and that he was also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Courts of Appeal for the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Circuits. Respondent gave the application to Brewer; it was then signed by Moss and filed on June 28, 2007.
The K-2 case was a class action suit filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Brewer prepared the Application of Joel D. Joseph Pro Hac Vice, using the information provided by Respondent in the Wartell application. The application was dated June 15, 2007 and signed by both Respondent and Moss. The caption in the upper left hand corner of the Application indicated that the address for the Law Offices of Joel D. Joseph was 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 300, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. The application included the Declaration of Joel D. Joseph in Support of Pro Hac Vice Application, whichwas dated June 15, 2007 and signed under the penalty of perjury by Respondent. It represented, inter alia, that Respondent's out-of-state address was also 7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 300, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. It also included the statement, "I am not a resident of, nor am I regularly employed, engaged in substantial business, professional or other activity in the State of California." Both the application and the declaration were filed on June 19, 2007.
As the hearing judge stated:
Moss moved his law practice to another office in December 2007. The testimony of Ms. Brewer clarifies that the new office was within a suite of offices that Mr. Moss owned in the same building. At that time, Respondent agreed to rent office space from Moss. Respondent occupied that space from December 1, 2007 until mid-October 2008. Brewer's testimony revealed that she was able to see Respondent come and go from the office from where she did her work for Mr. Moss. The hearing judge found that Respondent came into the office sporadically, sometimes he would be gone for a week or ten days and other weeks he would be in the office every day.
In early May 2008, Brewer received a phone call from opposing counsel in the Panera case. The caller told Brewer that Respondent's name did not appear on the online list of members...
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