In Re Complaint as to the Conduct of Harrington

718 P.2d 725, 301 Or. 18, 1986 Ore. LEXIS 1137
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedApril 22, 1986
DocketOSB 82-4; SC S31056
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 718 P.2d 725 (In Re Complaint as to the Conduct of Harrington) 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 Complaint as to the Conduct of Harrington, 718 P.2d 725, 301 Or. 18, 1986 Ore. LEXIS 1137 (Or. 1986).

Opinion

*20 PER CURIAM

This is a lawyer disciplinary proceeding instituted by the Oregon State Bar in January 1983 against Francis E. Harrington. The Bar charges the accused with six causes of complaint, alleging 15 violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility (Disciplinary Rules). Five of the six causes of complaint arise out of the accused’s association with a Mr. and Mrs. Burgard. The last cause of complaint stems from an unrelated probate matter. All charges involve alleged conduct which occurred between January 1979 and March 1981. As in all disciplinary cases, we review de novo. ORS 9.536(3). The Bar must prove each alleged violation by clear and convincing evidence.

I. THE BURGARD MATTERS.

Sometime in June 1975, Mr. and Mrs. Burgard, an elderly couple, were referred to the accused by their parish priest for assistance in the sale of some coastal property. The accused met with the Burgards in their home. He then prepared the necessary documents to complete the transaction. He charged the Burgards a fee of $85 for his services.

The accused, active in his church and other civic and charitable organizations, took a personal interest in aiding the Burgards, especially Mrs. Burgard, who was not readily able to get out and about. In the months and years following, the accused visited socially with the Burgards in their home and developed a close personal relationship as a friend and confidant of Mrs. Burgard. The Burgards were not willing or able to do for themselves many routine day-to-day activities such as banking. The accused testified that he stepped into the breach in respect of much of the Burgards’ banking transactions and did errands and odd jobs “to the point of exhaustion.”

The accused characterized his relationship with the Burgards as that of a “good Samaritan,” “rendering many nonlawyer-like services to [Mrs. Burgard] out of friendship and Christian concern.” Indeed, a review of the “services” provided by the accused shows a preponderance of activities that, although not inconsistent with an ongoing lawyer-client relationship, are not commonly thought of as the providing of legal services. For instance, on more than one occasion the accused was called because Mr. Burgard had fallen and injured *21 himself on one of his frequent shopping trips. Twice the accused was called to search the neighborhood for Mr. Bur-gard when the elderly gentleman failed to return home from shopping. When Mr. Burgard suffered a stroke, the accused went to the Burgards’ home in the middle of the night to make arrangements for transportation and hospital care. The accused’s wife transported Mrs. Burgard to and from the hospital to visit her husband. The accused also helped the Burgards with the maintenance of their automobile, the defrosting of their refrigerator and the purchase of home appliances. The most regular service provided to Mrs. Burgard by the accused appears to have been his handling of all her banking transactions.

During some of their social visits, the accused and Mrs. Burgard had discussions regarding a will. In August 1976, at Mrs. Burgard’s request, the accused drafted a will and trust agreement, which documents were executed the same month. Under the will, Mrs. Burgard gave all of her estate to “FRANCIS E. HARRINGTON, IN TRUST” for Mr. Bur-gard should the latter survive her. The will also nominated Francis E. Harrington, “my attorney,” as executor. The trust agreement named Francis E. Harrington, “Attorney at Law,” as trustee with Mr. and Mrs. Burgard as beneficiaries. According to the accused’s testimony, the trust agreement was to operate only if and when Mrs. Burgard became incapable of handling her own affairs. The accused did not bill Mrs. Burgard for preparation of these documents at that time. He did testify, however, that he believed that the documents required revision and that from time to time Mrs. Burgard contemplated changing both but could not make up her mind as to any preferred disposition of her assets.

Sometime prior to June 1977, Mrs. Burgard asked the accused to act under a power of attorney in her behalf. The accused explained to Mrs. Burgard that a power of attorney allowed him unlimited authority over her assets. He also explained the difference between an attorney in fact, i.e., one “who had the agency powers to do anything that the principal could do,” versus an attorney at law, and that, as her attorney in fact, he could operate without having to obtain her approval regarding the disposition of her assets. The accused testified that he told Mrs. Burgard that

*22 “* * * there were things that I could not do for her simply as a lawyer because they had to come back to her, they had to have her approval. If I had Power of Attorney, there were many things I could do, I could do them when she might be disabled. One of the things I pointed out very strongly was the disablement clause.” (Emphasis added.)

On June 30, 1977, the accused drafted a power of attorney, designating himself “attorney at law,” as Mrs. Burgard’s attorney in fact, Mrs. Burgard executed the power of attorney on the same day. The accused did not charge for drafting this document. Later, the accused characterized his conduct in exercising the power of attorney regarding at least one loan of Mrs. Burgard’s funds to third parties as providing legal services to Mrs. Burgard. Between June 30, 1977, and November 1980, the accused borrowed $5,000 from Mrs. Burgard and participated in or arranged for three loans of Mrs. Burgard’s funds to third parties. These transactions were the major focus of the Bar’s complaint against the accused.

As mentioned above, the accused performed Mrs. Burgard’s banking transactions for her. He characterized his duties as those of an errand boy in that he simply picked up her checks when she would call him, deposited them in her account, and then turned the deposit slips over to her or to her accountant. On some occasions, he merely would cash checks and return the money to Mrs. Burgard. From 1979, when the accused was appointed conservator for Mr. Burgard, until 1981, the accused also deposited checks for Mr. Burgard. For convenience, the accused was named as co-trustee with Mrs. Burgard on a number of her bank accounts and certificates of deposit. Some of the financial documents and instruments designated the accused as “attorney-trustee.” The accused contended that this designation was drafted by bank personnel to reflect their assessment of his status as Mrs. Burgard’s attorney in fact under the power of attorney.

For his conduct relating to his personal loan from Mrs. Burgard and his participation in the other three loans of Mrs. Burgard’s funds to third parties, the accused was charged with violations of DR 5-101(A), 5-104(A), 5-105(A), (B) and (C), and 9-102(B)(3), all set forth infra. One common thread between these disciplinary rules is that each applies only in the context of the professional relationship between lawyer and client. If the Bar does not show the existence of such a *23 relationship at the time of an alleged violation of one of these rules, an accused must be found not guilty.

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Bluebook (online)
718 P.2d 725, 301 Or. 18, 1986 Ore. LEXIS 1137, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-complaint-as-to-the-conduct-of-harrington-or-1986.