State v. Knight

• Citation: 330 P.3d 1216
• Decision Date: 16 July 2014
• Docket Number: No. SCBD–6142.,SCBD–6142.
• Parties: STATE of Oklahoma ex rel. OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION, Complainant, v. David William KNIGHT, Respondent.
• Court: Supreme Court of Oklahoma

330 P.3d 1216

STATE of Oklahoma ex rel. OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION, Complainant,

v.David William KNIGHT, Respondent.

No. SCBD–6142.

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

July 16, 2014.

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING FOR ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE.

¶ 0 Pursuant to Rule 7.7 of the Oklahoma Rules of Disciplinary Proceedings, 5 O.S.2011, ch. 1, app. 1–A, the complainant, the Oklahoma Bar Association, caused documentation to be transmitted to the Chief Justice of this Court following the imposition of a one-year probated suspension from the practice of law in the state of Texas. Upon order of this Court, the OBA filed a report detailing the respondent's past attorney discipline in Texas and Oklahoma. The Professional Responsibility Commission previously reprimanded the respondent for client neglect, failure to communicate with a client, and failure to report discipline in Texas.

RESPONDENT SUSPENDED FOR ONE YEAR.

Katherine M. Ogden, Assistant General Counsel, Oklahoma Bar Association, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Complainant.

David William Knight, Respondent, not appearing.

TAYLOR, J.

I. BACKGROUND

¶ 1 Pursuant to Rule 7.7 ¹ of the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings (RGDP), 5 O.S.2011, ch. 1, app. 1–A, the complainant Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) caused documentation in this attorney disciplinary proceeding to be transmitted to the Chief Justice of this Court following the one-year probated suspension of the respondent, David William Knight (Knight), in Texas. Knight was admitted to the practice of law in Oklahoma, on October 14, 1982, and was licensed to practice law in Oklahoma and Texas at all relevant times.

¶ 2 On October 10, 2013, the Evidentiary Panel 14–1 of the Grievance Committee for State Bar of Texas District 14 (State Bar of Texas) ordered that Knight be placed on a one-year probated suspension from the practice of law by an Agreed Judgment of Probated Suspension (the 2013 Texas Judgment).² The State Bar of Texas found that Knight had violated Rules 1.01(b)(1), 1.03(a), and 1.15(d) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct (TDRPC). Rule 1.01(b)(1) of the TDRPC states: “In representing a client, a lawyer shall not ... neglect a legal matter entrusted to the lawyer....” Rule 1.03(a) of the TDRPC states: “A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.” Rule 1.15(d) of the TDRPC states, in pertinent part: “Upon termination of representation, a lawyer shall ... [surrender] papers and property to which the client is entitled....”

¶ 3 In the 2013 Texas Judgment, the State Bar of Texas found that 1) Knight “was hired by [the complainant in Texas] to file a lawsuit against a former client for failure to pay for services rendered,” 2) Knight “neglected the legal matter entrusted to him,” 3) Knight “failed to promptly comply with reasonable requests for information” from his client, and 4) “[u]pon termination of representation, [Knight] failed to surrender papers and property to which [his client] was entitled.” The State Bar of Texas ordered that Knight “be suspended from the practice of law for a period of one (1) year, with the suspension being fully probated pursuant to the terms stated [in the 2013 Texas Judgment].” ³ The period of probated suspension began on November 1, 2013, and is scheduled to end on October 31, 2014. It is clear from the record that Knight remains eligible to practice law in Texas during his one-year probated suspension.

¶ 4 On June 6, 2014, this Court directed Knight to show cause, by written response to be filed on or before June 20, 2014, why he should not be disciplined by this Court based on the 2013 Texas Judgment. Knight failed to respond.

¶ 5 The 2013 Texas Judgment suspending Knight from the practice of law in Texas is “prima facie evidence that he committed the acts described therein.” RGDP 7.7(b). Knight bears the burden of proof to show that the findings forming the basis of the Texas probated suspension were not supported by the evidence or that the findings are not sufficient grounds for discipline in Oklahoma. State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Henderson, 1999 OK 29, ¶ 4, 977 P.2d 1096, 1098. Knight has failed to meet this burden.

¶ 6 Rules 1.01(b)(1), 1.03(a), and 1.15(d) of the TDRPC served as the basis for Knight's discipline in Texas. Rules 1.1 (competence),⁴ 1.3 (diligence),⁵ and 3.2 (expediting litigation),⁶ of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct (ORPC), 5 O.S.2011, ch. 1, app. 3–A, are substantially identical to Rule 1.01(b)(1) of the TDRPC. Rule 1.4(a)(3)-(4) (communication) ⁷ of the ORPC is the same as Rule 1.03(a) of the TDRPC. Rule 1.16(d) (surrendering papers and property upon termination of representation) ⁸ of the ORPC is the same as Rule 1.15(d) of the TDRPC. The misconduct for which Knight was suspended by the State Bar of Texas—neglecting the legal matter entrusted to him, failing to comply with his client's reasonable requests for information, and failing to surrender his client's papers and property upon termination of representation—constitutes violations of Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a)(3)-(4), 1.16(d), and 3.2 of the ORPC. Additionally, Knight failed to notify the General Counsel of the OBA that he had been disciplined for lawyer misconduct in Texas within twenty days of the final judgment, as required by Rule 7.7(a) of the RGDP.

II. PAST MISCONDUCT AND DISCIPLINE

¶ 7 On June 12, 2014, this Court ordered the OBA to inquire into and file a report, with relevant documents attached, on past disciplinary action taken against Knight in any jurisdiction and whether Knight had reported the disciplinary action to the OBA. The order allowed Knight to respond by June 30, 2014. The OBA filed its report on June 19, 2014. Knight failed to respond.

¶ 8 The OBA reported that 1) on December 15, 2009, the State Bar of Texas issued a Judgment of Partially Probated Suspension (the 2009 Texas Judgment) against Knight based on neglect and failing to communicate with his client; 2) Knight did not appeal the 2009 Texas Judgment, and it became a final order of discipline; 3) Knight failed to report the disciplinary action to the OBA pursuant to Rule 7.7(a) of the RGDP; 4) the OBA received notice of the disciplinary action from the State Bar of Texas, conducted a formal investigation, and presented the matter to the Professional Responsibility Commission (PRC); and 5) the PRC issued a private reprimand to Knight based on the Texas suspension and his failure to report.

¶ 9 Knight's private reprimand was based on the 2009 Texas Judgment in which the State Bar of Texas found that 1) Knight “neglected a legal matter that was entrusted to him,” 2) Knight “failed to keep [his client] reasonably informed about the status of the legal matter and failed to comply with her reasonable requests for information regarding the matter,” 3) Knight “communicated about the subject of the representation with an organization [Knight] knew to be represented by another lawyer regarding that subject” without the consent of the other lawyer or legal authorization to do so, and 4) Knight owed $7,302.00 in restitution to the Estate of Ruth M. Wilson. The State Bar of Texas ordered that Knight be placed on a one-year partially probated suspension from the practice of law, from January 15, 2010 to January 14, 2011. The first three months of the sentence consisted of an active suspension. The remaining nine months consisted of a probated suspension subject to similar terms as in the 2013 Texas Judgment, with the addition of 12 hours of Ethics CLE and 100 hours of community service.

¶ 10 The State Bar of Texas concluded in the 2009 Texas Judgment that Knight had violated Rules 1.01(b)(1), 1.03(a), and 4.02(a)⁹ of the TDRPC. On July 22, 2011, the PRC found that Knight had violated Rules 1.1 (competence), 1.3 (diligence), and 1.4 (communication) of the ORPC and Rule 7.7 of the RGDP.

III. APPROPRIATE DISCIPLINE

¶ 11 To determine the appropriate discipline, we consider the current misconduct, past misconduct and discipline, and the purposes of discipline. We have considered the current misconduct and past misconduct and discipline and turn to the other considerations. The purposes of attorney discipline are to protect the public and the judiciary, to preserve the integrity of the bar, and to deter similar misconduct by the attorney being disciplined and other members of the bar. State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Benefield, 2005 OK 75, ¶ 21, 125 P.3d 1191, 1195.

¶ 12 We do not consider Knight's previous misconduct and discipline in Texas and Oklahoma to punish him a second time but because his previous misconduct establishes a troubling history of neglect that must be considered in fashioning the appropriate discipline. Id. ¶ 22, 125 P.3d at 1195. “A history showing a pattern of neglect warrants substantial sanctions.” Id. ¶ 31, 125 P.3d at 1196. In 2009, Knight received a private reprimand for the same misconduct at issue here—client neglect, failure to communicate with his clients, and failure to report. When one form of discipline proves inadequate to deter misconduct, this Court has no choice but to substantially increase the severity of the discipline to safeguard the interests of the public. Id.

¶ 13 We are also troubled by Knight's failure to respond to this Court's show-cause order or to the OBA's report detailing his past misconduct and discipline. When a lawyer places so little value on his license to practice law and shows no regard for this Court's authority, the discipline should be sufficient to cause him to appreciate the gravity of his behavior. See State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Whitebook, 2010 OK 72, ¶ 26, 242 P.3d 517, 523. Here, additional discipline for Knight's misconduct is warranted by his failure to report and lack of respect for this Court's authority.

¶ 14 “In a reciprocal disciplinary proceeding, it is within this Court's discretion to visit the same discipline as that imposed in the...