In re Kaminsky

• Decision Date: 05 January 2021
• Docket Number: A19-1117
• Citation: 952 N.W.2d 915 (Mem)
• Parties: IN RE Petition for DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST Joseph KAMINSKY, a Minnesota Attorney, Registration No. 0053351.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

952 N.W.2d 915 (Mem)

IN RE Petition for DISCIPLINARY ACTION AGAINST Joseph KAMINSKY, a Minnesota Attorney, Registration No. 0053351.

A19-1117

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

January 5, 2021

ORDER

Natalie E. Hudson, Associate Justice

On December 17, 2019, we suspended respondent Joseph Kaminsky for a minimum of 30 days, effective December 31, 2019. In re Kaminsky , 936 N.W.2d 476, 476 (Minn. 2019) (order). We stated that by December 17, 2020, Kaminsky was required to file proof of his successful completion of the written examination required for admission to the practice of law by the State Board of Law Examiners on the subject of professional responsibility and that failure to do so would result in automatic suspension, as provided in Rule 18(e)(3), Rules on Lawyers Professional Responsibility (RLPR). Kaminsky , 936 N.W.2d at 476.

We conditionally reinstated Kaminsky on February 13, 2020. In re Kaminsky , 938 N.W.2d 842, 842 (Minn. 2020) (order). Our order reinstating Kaminsky repeated the requirement from our earlier order regarding the deadline for filing proof of successful completion of the written examination required for admission to the practice of law by the State Board of Law Examiners on the subject of professional responsibility. Id. We again stated that failure to do so would result in automatic suspension, pending successful completion of the examination, as provided in Rule 18(e)(3), RLPR. Kaminsky , 938 N.W.2d at 843.

Rule 18(e)(3), RLPR, provides that, unless waived by this court, a lawyer who has been suspended for 90 days or less "must, within one year from the date of the suspension order, successfully complete such written examination as may be required for admission to the practice of law by the State Board of Law Examiners on the subject of professional responsibility." The written examination referred to in Rule 18(e)(3) is the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). See Rule 4.A(5), Rules for Admission to the Bar. "Except upon motion and for good cause shown, failure to successfully complete this examination shall result in automatic suspension of the lawyer effective one year after the date of the original suspension order." Rule 18(e)(3), RLPR.

Kaminsky did not file proof of successful completion of the MPRE by December 17, 2020. Instead, on December 10, 2020, Kaminsky filed a motion seeking additional time, until May 1, 2021, to provide proof of successful completion of the MPRE. Kaminsky argues there is good cause for an extension of time to successfully complete the MPRE. Kaminsky took the August and October 2020 MPRE but did not receive a passing score. Kaminsky contends he did not receive a passing score because the exam was administered on a computer and, having never worked on one before, he was unable to properly operate the computer. Kaminsky has also filed a letter from his doctor stating he has a physical condition that makes it difficult for him to take a test using a computer. Kaminsky states that he realized he would need an accommodation for the MPRE only after taking the August exam, but by then it was too late to request an accommodation for the October exam.

The Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility opposes Kaminsky's motion.

During 2020, the MPRE was offered in March, August, and November. Kaminsky could have taken the exam in March. He has provided no information about why he did not do so.

Kaminsky could have learned that the MPRE would be administered on a computer before he took the August exam. Publicly available information states that the exam is taken on a computer. This same information also contains detailed information about how and when to apply for an accommodation because of a physical disability. In light of this...