January 1, 2004, through December 31, 2004

SCBD # 4996

Pursuant to the provisions of Rule 14.1, Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings, 5 O.S. ch. 1, app. 1-A (2003), this is the Annual Report of complaints received and processed for 2004 by the Professional Responsibility Commission and the Professional Responsibility Tribunal.

The Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct, 5 O.S. ch. 1, app. 3-A (2003), is the standard of conduct adopted and enforced by the Supreme Court of the State of Oklahoma, and provide guidelines by which all attorneys are to practice law in Oklahoma. The Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings provide the rules and procedures governing disciplinary proceedings.

THE PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY COMMISSION:
The Commission is composed of seven persons - five lawyer and two non-lawyer members. The attorneys are selected on rotating three-year terms by the President of the Association, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors. The non-lawyers are appointed, one each, by the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Oklahoma Senate. No member can serve more than two consecutive terms. Terms expire on December 31st at the conclusion of the three-year term.

Lawyer members serving on the Professional Responsibility Commission during 2004 were B. Wayne Dabney, Oklahoma City; Norma Eagleton, Tulsa; Thomas C. Riesen, Oklahoma City; Bernice Shedrick, Stillwater; and Douglas W. Sanders, Jr., Poteau. Non-Lawyer members were Richard Lundy, Claremore; and Thomas Walbert, Oklahoma City.

Norma Eagleton served as Chairperson and Richard Lundy served as Vice-Chairperson. Commission members serve without compensation but are reimbursed for actual travel expenses.

Responsibilities:
The Professional Responsibility Commission considers and investigates any alleged ground for discipline, or alleged incapacity, of any lawyer called to its attention, or upon its own motion, and takes such action as deemed appropriate, including holding hearings, receiving testimony, and issuing and serving subpoenas.

Under the supervision of the Professional Responsibility Commission, the Office of the General Counsel investigates all matters involving alleged misconduct or incapacity of any lawyer called to the attention of the General Counsel by grievance or otherwise, and reports to the Professional Responsibility Commission the results of investigations made by or at the direction of the General Counsel. The Professional Responsibility Commission then determines the disposition of grievances or directs the instituting of a formal complaint for alleged misconduct or personal incapacity of an attorney with the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel prosecute all proceedings under the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings, supervise the investigative process, and appear at all reinstatement proceedings.

PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY TRIBUNAL:
The Tribunal is composed of twenty-one persons -- fourteen lawyers and seven non-lawyers. The attorneys are selected on rotating three-year terms by the President of the Association, subject to the approval of the Board of Governors. The non-lawyers are appointed by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma. Terms expire on June 30th at the conclusion of the three-year term.

The Supreme Court has established a panel of Masters designated to preside over and conduct hearings on formal disciplinary and incapacity hearings, as well as applications for reinstatement to the practice of law. Following the filing of a formal disciplinary complaint with the Supreme Court, a three-member panel of the Professional Responsibility Tribunal is appointed by the Chief Master, and is composed of two attorney and one non-lawyer members. The Trial Panel presides at the hearing and prepares a report including findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a recommendation to the Supreme Court as to discipline, if such is indicated.

The lawyer members of the Professional Responsibility Tribunal who served during 2004 were: Julie Bates, Oklahoma City; Stephen Beam, Weatherford; David Cummins, Hollis; Kenneth L. Delashaw, Jr., Marietta; John J. Gardner, II, Ponca City; Pat Kent, Frederick; Jan Grant Johnson, Norman; Ronald Main, Tulsa; J. Daniel Morgan, Tulsa; Nancy Pruitt, Tulsa; Cheryl Ramsey, Stillwater; Cynthia Sparling, Oklahoma City; Peggy Stockwell, Norman; and Sidney K. Swinson, Tulsa.

Steve Dobbs, Oklahoma City, and Fanne Lu Yaffee, Muskogee, were appointed to replace J. Daniel Morgan and Cynthia Sparling whose terms expired June 30, 2004.

The non-lawyer members were: Jim Ambrose, Mangum; Dale Cabbiness, Edmond; Mike Gragg, Muskogee; Neil McElderry, Purcell; Rick Nagel, Norman; William J. Pettit, Broken Arrow; and Renee Warning, Edmond. Gray Blevins, Oklahoma City; Kimberly Hawkins, Oklahoma City; and Robert Lemons, Tulsa, were appointed to replace Jim Ambrose, Dale Cabbiness and Renee Warning whose terms expired June 30, 2004.

At their annual meeting on July 1, 2004, the Professional Responsibility Tribunal voted to appoint Sidney K. Swinson to serve a one-year term as Chief Master and Julie Bates was appointed to serve a one-year term as Vice Chief Master.

VOLUME OF GRIEVANCES:
The Office of the General Counsel received 433 formal grievances involving 329 attorneys, and 1,215 informal grievances involving 878 attorneys, totaling 1,648 grievances received against 1,070 attorneys for 2004. The total number of attorneys differs because some attorneys received both formal and informal grievances. In addition, the Office handled 215 items of general correspondence, which is mail not considered to be a grievance against an attorney.

The Oklahoma, Tulsa and LeFlore County Bar Associations assist in the investigation of grievances against attorneys practicing in those counties and assist in arbitration of fee disputes. Those grievances thought to be in violation of the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct are forwarded to the Office of the General Counsel for further investigation.

On January 1, 2004, 176 formal grievances were carried over from the previous year. During 2004, 433 formal grievances were opened for investigation. The carryover accounted for a total caseload of 609 formal investigations pending throughout 2004. Of those grievances, 412 investigations were completed by the Office of the General Counsel and presented for review to the Professional Responsibility Commission. Therefore, 197 investigations were pending on December 31, 2004.

The time required for investigating and concluding each grievance varies depending on the seriousness and complexity of the allegations and the availability of witnesses and documents. The Professional Responsibility Commission requires the Office of the General Counsel to report monthly on all informal and formal grievances received and all investigations completed and ready for disposition by the Commission. In addition, the Commission receives a monthly statistical report on the pending caseload.

DISCIPLINE BY THE PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY COMMISSION:
During 2004, the Commission voted the filing of formal disciplinary charges against 12 lawyers involving 20 grievances.

Pursuant to Rule 5.3(c) of the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings, the Professional Responsibility Commission has the authority to impose private reprimands, with the consent of the attorney, in matters of less serious misconduct or if mitigating factors reduce the sanction to be imposed. During 2004, the Commission issued private reprimands to 14 attorneys involving 17 grievances.

In addition, 36 grievances were dismissed with a letter of caution that the conduct of the attorney was dangerously close to a violation of a disciplinary rule which the Commission believed warranted a warning rather than discipline. The Commission dismissed 339 grievances due to lack of merit or loss of jurisdiction of the respondent. Loss of jurisdiction includes the death of the attorney, resignation pending disciplinary proceedings, lengthy suspension or disbarment or due to the attorney being stricken from membership for non-compliance with MCLE requirements or non-payment of dues.

DISCIPLINE IMPOSED BY SUPREME COURT:
In 2004, 25 cases were acted upon by the Supreme Court. There were two private reprimands and six orders of dismissal issued by the Supreme Court, one of which was due to the disbarment of the attorney in another matter. The public sanctions are as follows:

There were 37 cases pending before the Supreme Court on January 1, 2004. There were 12 new formal complaints filed, two Rule 7 criminal judgments and six resignations pending disciplinary proceedings filed for a total of 57 cases before the Court during 2004. There were 12 reinstatements pending on January 1, 2004, and 10 petitions for reinstatement were filed in 2004. The Supreme Court approved five reinstatements, denied three, and two were withdrawn by the petitioner. On December 31, 2004, there were 12 petitions for reinstatement and 32 formal complaints pending with the Supreme Court.

SURVEY OF GRIEVANCES:
In order to better inform the Supreme Court, the bar and the public of the nature of the grievances received, the numbers of attorneys complained against, and the areas of attorney misconduct involved, the following information is presented.

Total membership of the Oklahoma Bar Association as of December 31, 2004, was 15,269 attorneys. Considering the total membership, the receipt of 1,648 formal and informal grievances during 2004, involving 1,070 attorneys, constituted seven percent of the attorneys licensed to practice law by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

A breakdown of the type of attorney misconduct alleged in the 433 formal grievances received by the Office of the General Counsel is as follows:

Of the 433 grievances registered, the area of practice is as follows:

The number of years in practice of the 329 attorneys receiving formal grievances is as follows:

The largest number of grievances received were against attorneys who have been in practice for 25 years or more. Considering the number of practicing in-state attorneys, the largest number have been in practice 25 years or more.

Of the 433 formal grievances filed against 329 attorneys in 2004, 190 are attorneys in urban areas and 134 attorneys live and practice in rural areas. Five of the grievances were filed against attorneys licensed in Oklahoma but living out of state.

ACTION TAKEN BY THE PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY TRIBUNAL:
The Professional Responsibility Tribunal hears disciplinary cases filed by the General Counsel. The Tribunal also hears petitions for reinstatement filed by attorneys seeking reinstatement to the Bar Association. Both of these proceedings are filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

As of January 1, 2004, 25 cases were pending before the Tribunal. In 2004, 12 cases were presented to the Tribunal by the Supreme Court for a total of 37 cases pending throughout the year. Of those, the Tribunal heard and filed reports on 12 cases and in four cases the respondent resigned pending disciplinary proceedings or the matter was dismissed. On December 31, 2004, 21 cases were pending before the Tribunal.

On January 1, 2004, six petitions for reinstatement were pending with the Tribunal and 10 new petitions were filed throughout the year. Of these 16 petitions for reinstatement, eight cases were heard or reports were filed by the Tribunal and one was withdrawn by the petitioner, leaving seven cases pending before the Tribunal on December 31, 2004.

ETHICS AND EDUCATION:
At the direction of the Professional Responsibility Commission, the attorneys in the Office of the General Counsel provided informal ethics counseling to members of the Oklahoma Bar Association. This service assisted attorneys in considering the ethical rules prior to the occurrence of any potential misconduct. This task will now be handled by the newly created position of Ethics Counsel.

During 2004, the General Counsel, his staff, and the Professional Responsibility Tribunal and Commission members spoke to county bar association meetings, Continuing Legal Education classes, law schools classes and various civic organizations. In these sessions, disciplinary and investigative procedures, case law, and ethical standards within the profession were discussed. This effort directs lawyers to a better understanding of their ethical requirements and the disciplinary process, and informs the public of the efforts of the Oklahoma Bar Association to regulate the conduct of its members. In addition, the General Counsel and assistants were regular contributors to The Oklahoma Bar Journal.

Respectfully submitted this 17th day of February, 2005, on behalf of the Professional Responsibility Tribunal, the Professional Responsibility Commission, and the Office of the General Counsel of the Oklahoma Bar Association.

Dan Murdock, General Counsel
Oklahoma Bar Association