Matter of Greenspan

578 A.2d 1156, 1990 D.C. App. LEXIS 182, 1990 WL 109609

• Court: District of Columbia Court of Appeals
• Decided: July 27, 1990
• Docket: 90-242
• Status: Published

Opinions

PER CURIAM:

Respondent was charged with engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice in violation of DR 1-102(A)(5). Specifically, respondent was charged with failing to attend meetings and to supply information to the Superior Court Auditor-Master, and failure to respond to Bar Counsel’s inquiries regarding these failures.

At the same time respondent was facing these charges, he was given a six-month suspension by the Maryland Court of Appeals for making false statements to a bank on behalf of a client. Upon the recommendation of the Board, we administered reciprocal discipline nunc pro tunc. In re Greenspan, No. 88-1185 (April 25, 1990).

After an evidentiary hearing, the Board found that respondent violated DR 1-102(A)(5) by engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Bar Counsel recommended public censure, and the Hearing Committee recommended a 180-day suspension due to the presence of aggravating circumstances, namely respondent’s suspension for dishonesty in Maryland. The Board has adopted the Hearing Committee’s proposal and recommends a 180-day suspension. Neither party filed briefs or exceptions with the Board or with this court.

We accept the Board's findings of fact as supported by substantial evidence, and we attach the Board’s Report and Recommendation hereto and incorporate it by reference. We also agree with the Board that, in light of the significant record of prior discipline stemming from respondent’s Maryland ease, public censure is an inadequate sanction. See In re Jones (II), 534 A.2d 336, 337 (D.C.1987). Respondent’s pattern of lying under oath, as demonstrated by this case and respondent’s Maryland case, evinces a serious lack of fitness to practice law and leads us to conclude that a 180-day suspension borders on inadequacy as well. Therefore, in addition to a 180-day suspension, we require that respondent prove his fitness to practice before reinstatement. In re Morris, 495 A.2d 1162, 1163 (D.C.1985) (this court “shall adopt the recommended disposition of the Board unless to do so would foster a tendency toward inconsistent dispositions for comparable conduct or otherwise would be unwarranted.”).¹

Accordingly, it is:

ORDERED that, pursuant to D.C.Code § 11-2502 (1989), respondent, JEFFREY LEE GREENSPAN, is suspended from the practice of law in the District of Columbia for 180-days, with proof of fitness to practice law required before reinstatement. This order shall be effective thirty (30) days from the date of this opinion. Respondent’s attention is directed to the provisions of District of Columbia Bar Rule XI, § 14 governing disbarred and suspended attorneys.

1 . We express no opinion at this time concerning the steps Greenspan must take to rehabilitate himself before applying for reinstatement. However, we observe that in preparing his rehabilitation, Greenspan might do well to consult sources such as Bar Counsel, the Bar Association’s Committee on Ethics, and our decisions in In re Harrison, 511 A.2d 16 (D.C.1986) and In re Roundtree, 503 A.2d 1215 (D.C.1983).