In Re Ramirez

853 N.E.2d 121, 2006 Ind. LEXIS 761, 2006 WL 2530407

• Court: Indiana Supreme Court
• Decided: August 28, 2006
• Docket: 49S00-0605-DI-156
• Status: Published

Opinions

ORDER FINDING MISCONDUCT AND IMPOSING DISCIPLINE

Pursuant to Ind. Admission and Discipline Rule 23, Section 11, the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission and the respondent have submitted for approval a Statement of Circumstances and Conditional Agreement for Discipline stipulating a proposed discipline and agreed facts as summarized below:

Facts: In 1998, respondent represented clients, a husband and wife, in a post-dissolution proceeding involving the wife’s prior marriage. She was divorced in 1992 and was granted custody of the four children of her marriage. Her ex-husband was ordered to pay child support. Subsequently, her ex-husband filed a petition to modify custody as to one of their children, to abate his child support obligations with respect to that child, and to address concerns about certain medical support ar-rearage claims of his ex-wife.

A hearing on the matter was set for August 18, 1998. Respondent signed an agreed entry on that date, which the judge approved, changing the respective custody and child support arrangements of the parties. Respondent later sent his clients a bill for services rendered. His clients objected to the bill and Respondent’s representation of them. They also filed a grievance with the Disciplinary Commission.

Respondent thereafter contacted his clients by letter addressing some legal questions they had raised. He agreed to end his legal representation of them and to forgive the entire outstanding legal bill of $8,000. He also asked them, “in return,”

to consider withdrawing their grievance against him with the Disciplinary Commission. He included a form for them to sign and send to the Commission if they decided to withdraw the grievance. His clients chose not to withdraw it.

Violations: By suggesting, if not requesting, that his clients withdraw a grievance they had filed against him with the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, respondent violated Ind. Professional Conduct Rule 8.4(d), engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. This order is made public because Respondent agreed to the sanction and because we wish to make clear that even such relatively mild action designed to stop a disciplinary proceeding is prohibited by Rule 8.4(d). As Justice Dickson’s dissent demonstrates, respondent’s conduct was clearly less egregious than most warranting a public reprimand.

Discipline: Public reprimand.

The Clerk of this Court is directed to forward notice of this order to the respondent and his attorney, to the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission, and to all other entities as provided in Ad-mis.Disc.R. 23(3)(d).

SHEPARD, C.J., and SULLIVAN, BOEHM and RUCKER, JJ., concur. DICKSON, J., dissents with opinion.