In re Steele, 98-BR-00422-SCT.
| Citation | 722 So.2d 662 |
| Decision Date | 29 October 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-BR-00422-SCT.,98-BR-00422-SCT. |
| Parties | In re Petition of James C. STEELE for Reinstatement to Practice Law. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Mississippi |
Lisa Collums, Gulfport, Attorney for petitioner.
Michael B. Martz, Jackson, Attorney for respondent.
En Banc.
¶ 1. James C. Steele petitions this Court for reinstatement to the practice of law following a six-month suspension for violating Rules 1.2, 1.3, 1.4(c), 1.15(a), 1.15(b and c), 8.1(b), and 8.4 () of the Mississippi Rules of Professional Conduct. Mr. Steele violated these Rules by failing to 1) abide by his client's decisions regarding the objectives of representation, 2) act with reasonable diligence and promptness, 3) keep his client reasonably informed, 4) impose a reasonable fee for representation, 5) promptly return his client's retainer, and 6) cooperate with the appropriate disciplinary authorities in this case.
¶ 2. Edward and Martha Richards retained Mr. Steele as counsel in late August or early September, 1995, to seek grandparents visitation rights with their great-grandchildren after their grandson, Roger Lee Wolfe, was disabled in an automobile accident, and his ex-wife, Jenny Renaye Wolfe, changed residence without notification. Mr. Richards obtained the services of Mr. Steele through membership in a Prepaid Legal Services Plan and paid Mr. Steele a $1,000 retainer fee.
¶ 3. Between September 1, 1995, and October 1, 1995, Mr. Steele "did not provide any substantial legal services" to the Richardses. Mr. Richards contacted Prepaid Legal Services on October 2, 1995, due to Mr. Steele's inaction and failure to return his phone calls. After prodding by Prepaid Legal Services, Mr. Steele mailed a Complaint for Grandparents Visitation and Waiver of Process to be executed by Roger Lee Wolfe to Mr. Richards on October 11, 1995. After a second mailing following the Richardses' alleged failure to return the executed complaint, Mr. Steele filed the grandparents visitation complaint in the Chancery Clerk's Office of Harrison County on November 27, 1995. Due to Mr. Steele's delay in filing the complaint, the great-grandchildren were unable to spend Christmas of 1995 with their father and the Richardses, as they had done each previous Christmas.
¶ 4. Seeing no progress in their case, the Richardses terminated their attorney/client relationship with Mr. Steele on February 22, 1996. On February 23, 1996, the Richardses retained G. Charles Bordis, IV, to take over their case. After reviewing the court file, Mr. Bordis discovered that Mr. Steele had never filed a waiver of process for Roger Lee Wolfe, as Mr. Steele had represented to Mr. Richards. Mr. Bordis was thereafter able to secure an entry of judgment enforcing Mr. Richards's grandparents visitation rights.
¶ 5. On February 28, 1996, Mr. Richards filed his informal complaint against Mr. Steele with the Mississippi Bar. Mr. Steele never responded to the complaint, even after the Bar made repeated demands. Mr. Steele subsequently failed to appear at an investigatory hearing set for June 13, 1996. The Complaint Tribunal appointed by the Mississippi Supreme Court held a hearing on the matter on December 5, 1996. Mr. Steele failed to attend the hearing and was not represented by counsel at the hearing. As a result, the Tribunal entered a default judgment against Mr. Steele in its Opinion and Judgment filed on December 17, 1996, ordering that Mr. Steele be suspended from the practice of law for a period of six months. Mr. Steele filed his petition for reinstatement on March 20, 1998. The Mississippi Bar neither supports nor opposes Mr. Steele's petition.
¶ 6. Reinstatement to the practice of law is governed by Rule 12 of Rules of Discipline for the Mississippi State Bar. In re Robb, 702 So.2d 423, 424 (Miss.1997); In re Pace, 699 So.2d 593, 595 (Miss.1997). Rule 12.7 specifically describes the jurisdictional requirements of reinstatement petitions.
All reinstatement petitions shall be addressed to the Court, shall state the cause or causes for suspension or disbarment, give the names and current addresses of all persons, parties, firms, or legal entities who suffered pecuniary loss due to the improper conduct, the making of full amends and restitution, the reasons justifying reinstatement, and requisite moral character and legal learning to be reinstated to the privilege of practicing law. Upon filing, the petition shall be served on, and an investigatory fee of $500.00 shall be paid to the Bar, same to be in addition to any other sum due the Bar, or persons injured by the petitioner's improper conduct. The matters set out in this paragraph shall be jurisdictional.
"The Court's fundamental inquiry is whether [the attorney] has rehabilitated himself in conduct and character since the suspension was imposed." In re Mathes, 653 So.2d 928, 929 (Miss.1995). "A firm resolve to live a correct life evidenced by outward manifestation sufficient to convince a reasonable mind clearly that the person has reformed is only required." In re Underwood, 649 So.2d 825, 828-29 (Miss.1995) (quoting Williams v. Mississippi State Bar Ass'n, 492 So.2d 578, 580 (Miss.1986)). See also Pace, 699 So.2d at 596.
¶ 7. The Tribunal ordered Mr. Steele to pay $750.00 plus interest in restitution to Mr. Richards, $62.57 to the Mississippi Bar as previously assessed by the Bar's Committee on Professional Responsibility, and all costs and expenses totaling $361.64. Mr. Steele complied with these requirements and submitted his $500 investigatory fee, as evidenced by the record and agreed upon by the parties involved.
¶ 8. To justify his reinstatement, Mr. Steele submits that he has complied with the ruling of the Complaint Tribunal. Mr. Steele points to his actions following his becoming aware of the suspension to promptly close his law office and cease to practice law; notify all clients, opposing attorneys and parties, and courts of his suspension; assist his former clients in locating other counsel; provide new counsel with copies of his files and knowledge of the cases; return all original documents to those clients who made such requests; and file an affidavit with the Complaint Tribunal attesting to his completion of these acts.
¶ 9. To support his petition for reinstatement and provide references to his moral character, Mr. Steele offers numerous letters of recommendation, including letters from his wife, Suzanne Baker-Steele (a practicing attorney); Cecil G. Woods, Jr. (opposing counsel in the Richards matter); G. Charles Bordis, IV (the attorney who represented the Richardses subsequent to their firing Mr. Steele); Martha G. Carson, DUI Prosecutor for the Municipal Court of Biloxi, and fifteen other attorneys licensed to practice law in Mississippi. Mr. Steele...
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Winfield v. Miss. Bar
...inquiry is whether [the attorney] has rehabilitated himself in conduct and character since the suspension was imposed." In re Steele , 722 So. 2d 662, 664 (Miss. 1998) (second alteration in original) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting In re Mathes , 653 So. 2d 928, 929 (Miss. 1995)......
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