In the Matter of the Discipline of Nathan N. Jardine

2015 UT 51, 353 P.3d 154, 2015 Utah LEXIS 181, 2015 WL 3822848
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedJune 19, 2015
DocketCase No. 20130289
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2015 UT 51 (In the Matter of the Discipline of Nathan N. Jardine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Matter of the Discipline of Nathan N. Jardine, 2015 UT 51, 353 P.3d 154, 2015 Utah LEXIS 181, 2015 WL 3822848 (Utah 2015).

Opinion

Chief Justice DURRANT,

opinion of the Court:

Introduction

1 1 Nathan N. Jardine was suspended from the practice of law for eighteen months for violating numerous rules of professional conduct. Utah law allows for suspended attorneys to petition for reinstatement, however, and several years after being suspended, Mr. Jardine availed himself of this opportunity by filing a petition for reinstatement in district court. The district court denied his petition, concluding that he failed to comply with six requirements imposed by the rule governing reinstatement.

{2 We affirm the district court's denial of reinstatement because Mr. Jardine failed to comply with four of the rule's requirements. First, he practiced law within the State of Utah while he was suspended. Second, he failed to establish that he has the requisite honesty and integrity to practice law. Third, he failed to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, and has not presented a "good and sufficient reason" for failing to do so. And finally, he failed to keep informed about recent developments in the law.

T3 While ultimately affirming the district court's denial of reinstatement, we reverse the court's ruling that Mr. Jardine must reimburse the Utah State Bar $1,000 before he may be reinstated. Because the payment made by the Bar's fund for client protection to Mr. Jardine's former client cannot be traced to any violation of the professional rules by Mr. Jardine, there is no basis for concluding that he must reimburse the Bar.

T4 Finally, we direct our rules committee to consider amending rule 14-525(e)(4) of the Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice, which provides that a person seeking reinstatement must have the requisite honesty and integrity to practice law, to clarify what steps a person seeking reinstatement *157 must take in order to establish honesty and integrity.

Background

¶ 5 In August 2010, Mr. Jardine was suspended from the practice of law for three years. He appealed his suspension to this court. In an opinion issued on March 9, 2012, we held that Mr. Jardine had violated numerous ethical rules, but reduced his suspension period from three years to eighteen months. 1 We issued a separate order that same day explaining that Mr. Jardine's suspension was complete and that he could begin the process of reinstatement.

¶ 6 Mr. Jardine filed a petition for reinstatement. The district court denied his petition because it concluded that he failed to comply with rule 14-525 of the Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice, which governs attorney reinstatement following a suspension of more than six months. Specifically, the court concluded that Mr. Jardine failed to comply with six of the rule's requirements.

T 7 The court concluded that Mr. Jardine violated rules 14-525(e)(1) and 14-525(e)(2) by engaging in the unauthorized practice of law while he was suspended. Before he was suspended, Mr. Jardine agreed to represent Jonathan Glodo. Mr. Gélodo was an Alaskan resident who was involved in an automobile accident in Idaho. Because Mr. Jardine was not licensed in Idaho, all court filings were done through his brother, Joseph Jardine, who was licensed in Idaho. But Mr. Jardine concedes that he, not Joseph, performed almost all of the work on the case.

{8 When Mr. Jardine was suspended in August 2010, the disciplinary order provided that he was

enjoined and prohibited from practicing law in the State of Utah, holding himself out as an attorney at law, performing any legal services for others, giving legal advice to others, accepting any fee directly or indirectly for rendering legal services as an attorney, appearing as counsel or in any representative capacity in any proceeding in any Utah court or before any Utah administrative body as an attorney ..., or holding himself out to others or using [his] name in any manner in conjunction with the words "Attorney at Law," "Counselor at Law," or "Lawyer...."

The disciplinary order also noted that Mr. Jardine "may, with the consent of the client after full disclosure, wind up or complete any matters pending on the date of entry of the order."

¶ 9 Mr. Jardine never informed Mr. Glodo that he was suspended, nor did he wind up his participation in the matter. Instead, he continued to work on the case after he was suspended. For instance, he exchanged numerous text messages with Mr. (Glodo regarding the case. Among other things, Mr. Jardine advised Mr. Clodo that the case was "worth good money," the "liability is great," and that he had "a great case." At one point, Mr. Glodo asked for an update on his case. Mr. Jardine told him that a lawsuit had been filed and that he was working on a demand letter that required his "special attention." On December 28, 2010, he sent that demand letter to Hartford Insurance Company. The letter states that Mr. Jar-dine represents Mr. Glodo, analyzes the company's liability and Mr. Glodo's damages, and proposes a monetary settlement. The letter is printed on letterhead that lists Mr. Jar-dine's Utah address, but indicates he is licensed in California. The letter made no reference to Mr. Jardine's brother. Mr. Glo-do ultimately terminated his relationship with Mr. Jardine after he learned of Mr. Jardine's disciplinary record. Mr. Glodo also filed an informal complaint against Mr. Jar-dine with the Office of Professional Conduct (OPC).

110 The district court concluded that by representing Mr. (Glodo, Mr. Jardine violated two of rule 14-525's requirements. First, he violated rule 14-525(e)(1), which requires compliance "with the terms and conditions of all prior disciplinary orders," because his pri- or disciplinary order specifically prohibited him from practicing law in Utah. And second, he violated rule 14-525(e)(2), which directly *158 prohibits the unauthorized practice of law, by continuing to practice law while suspended.

{11 Third, the district court denied reinstatement because Mr. Jardine had not demonstrated the requisite honesty and integrity required by rule 14-525(e)(4). As a basis for this conclusion, the court noted that "[the Office of Professional Conduct demonstrated substantial debts owed by Jardine, including taxes, child support and a civil judgment for which a Bench Warrant was issued."

112 Fourth, the district court concluded that Mr. Jardine failed to show that he complied with rule 14-525(e)(5) by keeping informed about recent developments in the law. Mr. Jardine argued that he complied with this rule by working as a paralegal, but the court concluded that the rule "at a minimum, ... demands efforts comparable to those required of practicing attorneys, which is something more than merely being engaged in the practice of law."

{13 Fifth, the court denied reinstatement because Mr. Jardine failed to take and pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MERE).

T14 And finally, the district court denied reinstatement because Mr. Jardine failed to reimburse the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection (Fund) for $1,000 that was paid to one of his former clients. to compensate the client for Mr. Jardine's allegedly unreasonable fee.

{15 Mr. Jardine now appeals the district court's denial of reinstatement.

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2015 UT 51, 353 P.3d 154, 2015 Utah LEXIS 181, 2015 WL 3822848, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-matter-of-the-discipline-of-nathan-n-jardine-utah-2015.