In Re Beers

118 P.3d 784, 339 Or. 215, 2005 Ore. LEXIS 510
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 18, 2005
DocketSC S51895
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 118 P.3d 784 (In Re Beers) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Beers, 118 P.3d 784, 339 Or. 215, 2005 Ore. LEXIS 510 (Or. 2005).

Opinion

*217 PER CURIAM

The issues in this contested lawyer admission proceeding are whether former Rule for Admission of Attorneys (RFA) 3.10 (2002) 1 bars applicant’s admission and, if not, whether applicant has proven by clear and convincing evidence that he presently possesses the moral character and fitness necessary for admission to the Oregon State Bar. On de novo review, we find that although applicant participated in substantial illicit drug activity in the past, he has overcome his drug dependence and reformed such that he is qualified for admission to the Bar.

Applicant began using marijuana and alcohol when he was 12 years old. During high school, he progressed to more serious drugs, and cocaine became his drug of choice. Applicant also began selling drugs to his friends and classmates to support his drug use. In 1983, when applicant was 17, he dropped out of high school and left home. He completed his GED and worked a variety of jobs while continuing to use drugs. At one point, applicant contacted his parents for help, and his mother took him to a residential drug treatment program. Although applicant was supposed to remain in the program for six to eight weeks, he left after just a few days.

Applicant resumed using drugs and became more involved in selling them. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, applicant was convicted of felony possession of a controlled substance, for which he served a few months in county jail, and a variety of misdemeanors including unlawful possession of a concealed weapon, shoplifting, and driving under the influence. Applicant also violated the terms of his probation by continuing to use drugs and alcohol and by paying someone else to impersonate him at a court-ordered drug treatment program. During that time, applicant also had *218 numerous traffic violations and failed to appear in court multiple times, leading to warrants for his arrest. In addition, on two occasions, applicant gave police officers a false name.

Applicant’s drug-related activity continued to escalate. By late 1991, applicant was a mid-level drug dealer; he would buy large quantities of cocaine and sell to other dealers. In April 1992, the California police arrested him during a drug sting, and a grand jury charged him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He pleaded guilty to the felony drug charge and served approximately three years of a five-year sentence in a California state prison.

While in prison, applicant began to turn his life around. Applicant stopped using drugs, began taking college courses, and dealt with his unresolved criminal charges and warrants. After his release in 1994, applicant returned to Oregon. He continued his college education. He also obtained a bookkeeper position with a small software company. After about nine months, applicant applied for a part-time computer operator position with Smith Barney, an investment firm.

After being offered the job, applicant spent two days learning Smith Barney’s computer system. On his second day, applicant told the assistant manager about his felony conviction. Although the assistant manager thought that applicant had paid his debt to society, he talked with his supervisors at Smith Barney. Ultimately, they decided not to employ applicant because they were unsure, based on his background, if they would be able to obtain a bond for him.

After his experience at Smith Barney, applicant accurately answered the questions that prospective employers asked him. 2 However, he did not go beyond answering the specific questions that they asked or disclose his prior drug use or convictions. In late 1995, applicant successfully applied for part-time positions with two companies, Bardsley Neidhart, a market research company, and Fi.Comm, an investor relations firm. Applicant worked the two part-time jobs simultaneously for a short time before getting a full-time position with Fi.Comm. Based on his work, the president of *219 Fi.Comm promoted applicant to be an account executive. In that position, applicant worked with public companies and managed the release of those companies’ information to current and potential investors. Over the next two years, while working full time at Fi.Comm, applicant got married, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Linfield College, and completed his parole.

Columbia Sportswear was one of the clients that applicant worked with as a Fi.Comm account executive. In 1998, Columbia decided to bring their investor relations work in-house. Having been impressed with applicant’s work, Columbia asked him to work as its Director of Investor Relations. Applicant accepted the offer and did not fill out a formal job application until after he had begun work at Columbia. That application asked whether applicant had been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty or breach of trust. Applicant answered that question “no.” He did not go beyond that question and disclose his previous drug convictions. However, after he had been working at Columbia for about six months, he came forward and voluntarily told his employer about his prior convictions and past drug use.

Applicant first disclosed his prior convictions and former drug use to his direct supervisor, Tim Boyle. Although applicant’s past surprised Boyle, Boyle remained impressed with applicant’s abilities and performance. Boyle told applicant that he should talk about his convictions with Columbia’s general counsel, Davis. Davis, who previously had been a prosecutor, stated that applicant’s disclosure did not lead him to question either applicant’s ability to do his job or his trustworthiness. However, some other Columbia employees questioned whether applicant had lied on his employment application when answering the question about convictions. Davis pulled applicant’s file, read his employment application, and determined that applicant had truthfully answered the questions.

Applicant’s supervisors at Columbia found applicant to be bright, hard-working, and very competent. The company received an investor relations award, and Columbia’s president and CEO explained that the award “was primarily based on [applicant’s] diligent work.” Applicant’s supervisors *220 recommended him for a promotion, and a Columbia executive selected applicant, from a group of qualified employees, to be the Director of Operations for Columbia’s new Sorel division.

When applicant raised the idea of attending law school, his Columbia supervisors were supportive. So, while working full time at Columbia and raising three children with his wife, applicant also began attending the night program at Lewis & Clark Law School. During law school, applicant studied for and passed the Certified Public Accountant exam and received his accounting license from the Oregon Board of Accountancy. Applicant also began serving as a member of the board of directors of the National Crime Victims Law Institute. In 2002, applicant graduated in the top half of his class from Lewis & Clark Law School.

Applicant has remained drug free since his conviction in 1992.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
118 P.3d 784, 339 Or. 215, 2005 Ore. LEXIS 510, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-beers-or-2005.