In the Matter of The Application For Admission To Practice Law Justin Robert Steffen, (SC S059555).

• Decision Date: 22 September 2011
• Docket Number: (SC S059555).
• Citation: 261 P.3d 1254,351 Or. 106
• Court: Oregon Supreme Court
• Parties: In the Matter of the Application for Admission to Practice Law Justin Robert STEFFEN, Applicant.

351 Or. 106

261 P.3d 1254

In the Matter of the Application for Admission to Practice Law Justin Robert STEFFEN, Applicant.

(SC S059555).

Supreme Court of Oregon, En Banc.

Submitted on the Record June 27, 2011.Decided Sept. 22, 2011.

No appearance for the Oregon State Bar.No appearance contra.PER CURIAM.

Justin Robert Steffen (applicant) seeks admission to the Oregon State Bar. Applicant submitted his admission application to the Board of Bar Examiners (board) in November 2010. On his application, he indicated that he had past-due debts and judgments. The board asked applicant for additional information about those debts and judgments. Applicant did not respond to that request for about three months, at which point applicant advised the board that he had filed for bankruptcy. Applicant took the position that the board could not inquire about his past-due financial obligations, because to do so would violate federal law.¹ The board made further efforts to investigate the circumstances of applicant's debts and financial obligations, and applicant continued not to cooperate fully. The board now recommends that this court deny applicant's request for admission to the Oregon bar based on applicant's failure to cooperate with its investigation. As we will explain, we agree with the board's recommendation and deny applicant's admission.

Under ORS 9.210, the board is authorized to examine applicants for admission to the bar and recommend that this court admit those who are qualified under the law and the court's rules. See also Rules of Admission (RFA) 2.10(4) (board shall recommend to Supreme Court whether applicants should be admitted). One such qualification is that the applicant be “a person of good moral character and fit to practice law.” ORS 9.220(2). This court has charged the board with investigating and evaluating an applicant's character and fitness. See RFA 2.10(2) (board shall investigate and evaluate moral character and fitness to practice law of each applicant); RFA 6.05 (board has authority to conduct investigations, convene evidentiary hearings, and issue subpoenas). Concomitantly, this court has charged applicants with a duty to cooperate and comply with the board's investigation and requests for information. See RFA 4.25(1) (specifying duty). To enforce that duty, our rules specifically provide that an applicant may be denied admission for failing to cooperate or refusing to provide the board with information material to the board's inquiry regarding the applicant's character and fitness to practice law. RFA 6.05(4).

Applicants for bar admission, like all lawyers, are expected to scrupulously honor their financial obligations. In re Scallon, 327 Or. 32, 39, 956 P.2d 982 (1998). In addition, because lawyers frequently hold client funds in trust, an applicant's problems handling money (either the applicant's own or funds belonging to others) raises concern about the applicant's ability to handle client funds with “scrupulous probity.” Cf. In re Stodd, 279 Or. 565, 567, 568 P.2d 665 (1977) (“Nothing less than the most scrupulous probity in dealing with the funds of others is compatible with admission to the practice of law.”). An applicant's handling of his or her financial affairs, therefore, is appropriate for the board and this court to consider in determining the applicant's fitness to practice law. Scallon, 327 Or. at 39, 956 P.2d 982; see also In re Taylor, 293 Or. 285, 293–94, 647 P.2d 462 (1982) (so stating). The fact that an applicant has a bankruptcy in his or her history is not in and of itself disqualifying. Scallon, 327 Or. at 39, 956 P.2d 982. The circumstances of the bankruptcy, however, are highly relevant to consider. See Taylor, 293 Or. at 293, 647 P.2d 462 (considering circumstances surrounding bankruptcy “as these circumstances illustrate an applicant's judgment in handling serious financial obligations”). A bankruptcy that results from extraordinary hardship generally will not reflect adversely on an applicant's character and fitness, while one arising from selfishness, a disregard of fiscal and moral responsibilities, or other irresponsible conduct generally will. See In re Gunter, 344 Or. 368, 385–87, 182 P.3d 187, modified on recons., 344 Or. 540, 186 P.3d 286 (2008) (so observing generally; concluding that, in particular case before the court, bankruptcy reflected adversely on applicant's fitness where circumstances suggested it was not a remedy of last resort for unforeseen expenses, but rather was a convenient means of escaping inability to manage finances). For those reasons, in this case, applicant's handling of his debts and unpaid judgments was well within the scope of the board's investigatory mandate, and applicant had a duty to cooperate with the board's requests.

In its letter recommending that this court deny applicant's admission to the bar, the board relied on the above principles and several of the same cases we have cited. On review, applicant expresses his disagreement with the board's recommendation, but does not provide us with any argument that engages the board's reasoning to explain why the board's recommendation is wrong or inconsistent with our prior cases....