AN UNNAMED ATTORNEY V. KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
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TO BE PUBLISHED
,Sixprentr (90urf of
2004-SC-0596-KB
V.
BATEko-ti
~~
MOVANT
AN UNNAMED ATTORNEY
IN SUPREME COURT
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
Movant, an unnamed attorney, was charged by the Kentucky Bar
Association (KBA) with violating SCR 3.130-7 .15(1) (Count I) and SCR 3.1305.5(b) (Count II) .
Movant filed a Verified Motion for Consensual Discipline
admitting to falsely advertising law office locations throughout Kentucky that were
neither staffed nor in actual existence . The Movant requested a private
reprimand . The KBA filed a Response agreeing with the motion. We therefore
issue this unnamed attorney opinion reiterating that it is improper to make false,
deceptive or misleading statements about the location of a lawyer's offices . The
offending attorney has been privately reprimanded .
In Count I of the Charge issued by the Inquiry Commission on June
20, 2003, Movant was charged with a violation of SCR 3.130-7 .15(1). The
violation was based upon facts showing that Movant advertised and
communicated in telephone directories various office locations in Kentucky . But
Ga
Movant's offices identified in the respective telephone directories were neither
staffed by a lawyer or any legal support staff, nor were they actual offices .
SCR 3.130-7 .15(1) provides that "a lawyer shall not make a false,
deceptive, or misleading communication about the lawyer or the lawyer's
services . A communication is false, deceptive, or misleading if it contains a
material misrepresentation of fact or law, or a fact necessary to make the
statement considered as a whole not materially misleading."
Movant and the KBA agree that no client has ever expressed any
confusion or misunderstanding concerning the location of Movant's Kentucky law
offices . But by stating addresses in Movant's telephone directory advertisements
for which no actual offices existed, Movant's communication is misleading, a
misrepresentation, and a violation of SCR 3.130-7 .15(1). The KBA requests that
Movant be privately reprimanded and Movant, in her Verified Motion for
Consensual Discipline, has agreed to a private reprimand on Charge I .
In Count II, Movant was charged with a violation of SCR 3.1305 .5(b), which provides that "a lawyer shall not assist a person who is not a
member of the Bar in the performance of activity that constitutes the
unauthorized practice of law." The KBA and Movant agree that Movant's
associate attorney inadvertently signed interrogatory responses without
confirming her pro hac vice status in that particular case. As this does not rise to
the level of a violation of SCR 3.130-5 .5(b), the Charge is dismissed .
Upon the foregoing facts and charges, it is ordered that the
Movant's Verified Motion for Consensual Discipline be granted . Therefore, it is
ORDERED that:
1 . Movant, an unnamed attorney, is hereby privately reprimanded
for a violation of SCR 3.130-7 .15(1) .
2 . Charge 11 is hereby dismissed .
3. In accordance with SCR 3.450, Movant is directed to pay all
costs associated with these disciplinary proceedings in the amount of $15 .58, for
which execution may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and
Order.
All concur.
ENTERED : September 23, 2004.
COUNSEL FOR MOVANT:
Peter L. Ostermiller
1800 Kentucky Home Life Building
239 South Fifth Street
Louisville, KY 40202
COUNSEL FOR RESPONDENT :
Bruce K. Davis, Executive Director
Jay R. Garrett
Deputy Bar Counsel
Kentucky Bar Association
514 West Main Street
Frankfort, KY 40601
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