Attorney Grievance Commission v. Awuah

• Decision Date: 09 May 2003
• Docket Number: Misc. AG No. 3
• Citation: 374 Md. 505,823 A.2d 651
• Parties: ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. Frank A.K. AWUAH.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

823 A.2d 651

374 Md. 505

ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. Frank A.K. AWUAH.

Misc. AG No. 3, Sept. Term, 2002.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

May 9, 2003.

Melvin Hirshman, Bar Counsel, James P. Botluk, Asst. Bar Counsel, for petitioner.

Frank A.K. Awuah, Jessup, for respondent.

Argued before BELL, C.J., ELDRIDGE, RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL, HARRELL and BATTAGLIA, JJ.

BATTAGLIA, J.

The Respondent, Frank A.K. Awuah (hereinafter "Awuah" or "Respondent") was admitted to the Bar of this Court on June 28, 1990. On July 29, 1997 this Court indefinitely suspended Respondent with the right to apply for reinstatement after sixty days, as a result of his failure to maintain proper trust accounts, commingling client funds with his own and failing to keep proper records regarding the handling of the monies. Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Awuah, 346 Md. 420, 697 A.2d 446 (1997).¹ On February 12, 1999, this Court extended the suspension upon Joint Petition of Bar Counsel and Awuah with the right to apply for reinstatement after thirty days.²

On January 10, 2002, the Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland (hereinafter "Bar Counsel"), acting pursuant to Maryland Rules 16-707 and 16-709(a),³ filed a petition for disciplinary action against Awuah charging numerous violations of the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct (hereinafter "MRPC"), including MRPC 1.1 (Competence),⁴ MRPC 1.3 (Diligence),⁵ MRPC 1.5 (Fees),⁶ MRPC 5.5 (Unauthorized Practice of Law),⁷ MRPC 8.4(b),(c) & (d) (Misconduct).⁸

The charges involved complaints of Paul Brobbey, Boukari Tare, and Michael Grady. On March 18, 2002, this Court referred the petition to The Honorable Diane O. Leasure of the Circuit Court for Howard County for a hearing to determine findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Maryland Rule 16-709.

Judge Leasure scheduled a hearing for June 11, 2002. Prior to the hearing, Awuah filed a motion to dismiss in which he alleged that he had not participated in the proceedings before the Inquiry Panel and the Review Board. Bar Counsel responded that he had sent correspondence regarding those proceedings to Awuah's office address, which had been maintained by the Client Security Trust Fund (now the Client Protection Fund). Judge Leasure denied the motion to dismiss and, by consent of the parties, proceeded to hold three hearings in the matter, on June 11, 2002, August 28, 2002 and November 8, 2002, to permit witnesses to be located.

Judge Leasure, on December 23, 2002, entered the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

"For the reasons set forth herein, the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that the Respondent violated Rule 1.1 regarding his representation of Mr. Brobbey; Rule 1.3 regarding his representations of Ms. Okusaga and Mr. Brobbey; Rule 5.5 regarding his representation of Mr. Brobbey, Mr. Ouedraogo and Ms. Okusaga; and Rule 8.4(b), (c), and (d) regarding his representations of Ms. Okusaga, Mr. Brobbey and Mr. Ouedraogo. The court further finds that the evidence was insufficient to establish a violation of Rule 1.5.

Background

"The Respondent was admitted to the Bar of the Court of Appeals of Maryland on June 28, 1990. He was also admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia. He has been indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Maryland since August 28, 1997. In September 1999, he was suspended by the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

"The several complaints filed against the Respondent are related to his handling of immigration matters for or on behalf of the complainants. At all relevant times, the Respondent's sole law office was located in Silver Spring, Maryland. His office was initially located on the fifth floor of the building and was later moved to the sixth floor. It is undisputed that subsequent to his suspension in Maryland, the Respondent continued to see clients in his Silver Spring office and continued to use his legal letterhead. The Respondent testified at the hearing that once he found out that his District of Columbia suspension was not as yet in effect, he continued to work from his Silver Spring office as a District of Columbia (not Maryland) attorney.

The Complaints

"I. Complaint of Paul Brobbey.

"Mr. Brobbey was out of the country and unavailable to testify at the hearing. A copy of the transcript of his testimony before the inquiry panel was submitted as an exhibit (Petitioner's Exhibit # 11) in this case.

"According to the testimony and evidence presented at the inquiry panel hearing, the Respondent represented Mr. Brobbey from July 1996 through July 2000. The Respondent submitted an application for an I-30 immigration status on Mr. Brobbey's behalf, which was rejected. Mr. Brobbey testified that he called the Respondent upon learning of the denial and stated that it took the Respondent three days to return his call.

"In June 2000, Mr. Brobbey met with the Respondent at his [Respondent's] office in Silver Spring, Maryland. The Respondent thereafter filed an untimely motion and/or appeal concerning the I-30 application denial.

"Mr. Brobbey was ultimately incarcerated and placed on a schedule to be deported. The Respondent visited him in prison, and told him that there was nothing he could do for him and that his only choice was to sign the deportation letter and wait to be deported. While Mr. Brobbey was in prison, his sister told him that she had learned that the Respondent had been disbarred [sic, suspended].

"Mr. Brobbey testified that during the course of the representation, the Respondent never returned his calls and when he did (typically a week to a couple of weeks later), he `never had anything to say' to him. He said the problem got worse when the Respondent moved his office from the fifth floor to the sixth floor. Mr. Brobbey testified that the Respondent held himself out as an attorney and never told him that his license to practice law had been suspended.

"Mr. Brobbey claims to have paid the Respondent between $6,000.00 and $8,000.00 for legal services and alleges that the Respondent did little or nothing on his behalf. Although Mr. Brobbey's sister was able to obtain his file from the Respondent, he claims entitlement to a refund of the fees he paid to the Respondent for the representation.

"In November 2000, Mr. Brobbey retained new counsel who filed a motion to reopen his case; this motion was granted.

"II. Complaint of Boukari Tare.

"The Respondent was retained in September 1999 to file an H1B visa application on behalf of Boureima Ouedraogo. The only witness to testify regarding the allegations in this complaint was the Respondent.

"The Respondent testified that Mr. Ouedraogo was educated in a foreign country; therefore, his transcripts and credentials had to be translated from French. He stated that it became apparent that Mr. Ouedraogo could not produce all the documents that were needed. Despite this fact, the Respondent filed the visa application on March 17, 2000. Thereafter, he was unable to get in touch with Mr. Ouedraogo. The Respondent testified that he stopped working on the case in (approximately) September 2000 because he was unable to get in touch with Mr. Ouedraogo.

"According to the Respondent, a refund for the $1,250.00 paid on behalf of Mr. Ouedraogo by his employer had been made as of the date the complaint was filed with the AGC. The Petitioner (during closing arguments at the hearing) conceded that it did not have proof that all monies paid by the employer had not been refunded and submitted on this issue.

"III. Complaint of Michael Grady, Esq.

"Adijat Toke Okusaga testified that she met the Respondent in 1992 and that he was introduced to her as an immigration lawyer. In March 1993, she retained the Respondent to represent her in obtaining her green card. He was apparently successful in getting her a temporary permit, but told her that it would take five to six years to obtain an immigration visa. The Respondent told her that he would notify her when her priority date was getting close.

"Ms. Okusaga testified regarding the initial fee arrangement she had with the Respondent. The parties agreed upon a fee of (approximately) $1,500.00 to be paid in monthly installments of $50.00.

"In June 2000, Ms. Okusaga went to the Respondent's office in Silver Spring. At that time he told her that her priority date was close and that he needed an additional payment. She paid the Respondent another $1,000.00, with the understanding that the balance of the fees would be paid at a later date. She also wanted her husband to be included in her application for which the Respondent charged her an additional $750.00. At that time, the Respondent gave her a list of requirements as it related to her priority date.

"Ms. Okusaga stated that she obtained all the required documentation (results of medical examination, four years of tax returns, $345.00 check for INS, etc.) and delivered it to the Respondent's office in June 2000. At that time, she picked up one of the Respondent's business cards that identified him as an attorney and gave his Silver Spring, Maryland office address, although it reflected his old suite number. When asked about his move from the fifth to the sixth floor, the Respondent told her that `business was not moving well' and that he was `downsizing.' "Ms. Okusaga testified that the Respondent represented her until July 5, 2000. She further testified that when she did not hear from the Respondent for two to three months and her phone calls to him were not returned, another attorney told her that the Respondent had been disbarred [sic, suspended]. Based upon that information, Ms. Okusaga wrote a letter to the Respondent on October 21, 2000 terminating his services as her attorney. She never received a response to this letter. Testimony adduced at the hearing established that Ms. Okusaga considered the Respondent to be her attorney up until the time she terminated his services. She...