Opinion
A20-0147
02-12-2021
IN RE Petition for REINSTATEMENT OF Bobby Gordon Onyemeh SEA, a Minnesota Attorney, Registration No. 0282807.
ORDER
In August 2019, we indefinitely suspended petitioner Bobby Gordon Onyemeh Sea from the practice of law, with no right to petition for reinstatement for 120 days. In re Sea , 932 N.W.2d 28, 31 (Minn. 2019). Petitioner's misconduct involved making knowingly false statements to a tribunal and others and failing to attend a court hearing, in violation of Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 3.3(a)(1), 4.1, 8.4(c), and 8.4(d). Sea , 932 N.W.2d. at 31.
Petitioner applied for reinstatement in January 2020, and a hearing was held before a panel of the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board. On January 12, 2021, the panel submitted its findings of fact, conclusions, and recommendation. The panel found that petitioner had undergone the requisite moral change to render him fit to resume the practice of law and that he possessed the intellectual competency to practice law. The panel further found that petitioner had passed the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, had satisfied his continuing legal education requirements, and had paid costs under Rule 24, Rules on Lawyers Professional Responsibility ("RLPR"). The panel also found that petitioner had not fully complied with the notice requirement of Rule 26, RLPR, but it did not believe this failure should preclude petitioner from being reinstated. The panel recommended that petitioner be reinstated to the practice of law and placed on supervised probation for 2 years.
Petitioner and the Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility waive their procedural rights under Rule 18, RLPR, and jointly recommend that petitioner be reinstated and placed on probation.
We have independently reviewed the file and approve the recommended disposition.
Based upon all the files, records, and proceedings herein,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that petitioner Bobby Gordon Onyemeh Sea is reinstated to the practice of law and is placed on probation for a period of 2 years, subject to the following terms and conditions:
(a) Petitioner shall cooperate fully with the Director's Office in its efforts to monitor compliance with this probation. Petitioner shall promptly respond to the Director's correspondence by the due date. Petitioner shall provide to the Director a current mailing address and shall immediately notify the Director of any change of address. Petitioner shall cooperate with the Director's investigation of any allegations of unprofessional conduct that may come to the Director's attention. Upon the Director's request, petitioner shall authorize the release of information and documentation to verify compliance with the terms of this probation.
(b) Petitioner shall abide by the Minnesota Rules of Professional Conduct.
(c) Petitioner shall be supervised by a licensed Minnesota attorney appointed by the Director to monitor compliance with the terms of this probation. Within 2 weeks of the date of this order, petitioner shall provide the Director with the names of four attorneys who have agreed to be nominated as petitioner's supervisor. If, after diligent effort, petitioner is unable to locate a supervisor acceptable to the Director, the Director will seek to nominate a supervisor. Until a supervisor has signed a consent to supervise, petitioner shall, on the first day of each month, provide the Director with an inventory of active client files described in paragraph (d) below. Petitioner shall make active client files available to the Director upon request.
(d) Petitioner shall cooperate fully with his supervisor's efforts to monitor compliance with this probation. Petitioner
shall contact the supervisor and schedule a minimum of one in-person (or virtual) meeting per calendar quarter. Petitioner shall submit to the supervisor an inventory of all active client files by the first day of each month during the probation. Active files shall include any matter on which petitioner provided any legal work or advice during the past month, regardless of whether petitioner charged the client for that work or advice. With respect to each active file, the inventory shall disclose the client name, type of representation, date opened, most recent activity, next anticipated action, and anticipated closing date. Petitioner's supervisor shall file written reports with the Director at least quarterly, or at such more frequent intervals as the Director may reasonably request.
(e) Within 30 days of the date of this order, petitioner shall provide the Director and his probation supervisor, if any, a written plan outlining office procedures designated to ensure that petitioner is in compliance with probation requirements. Such office procedures shall outline petitioner's specific plans and resources to address any practice-related issues, including scheduling conflicts. Petitioner shall provide progress reports as requested.
(f) Petitioner shall continue counseling or other therapy as recommended by his current spiritual counselor or as otherwise recommended by a counselor, therapist, or other healthcare professional.
(g) If, at any time during the period of probation, after giving petitioner an opportunity to be heard by the Director, the Director concludes that petitioner has violated the conditions of the probation or engaged in further misconduct, the Director may file a petition for disciplinary action against petitioner in the Minnesota Supreme Court without first submitting the matter to a panel or panel chair. Petitioner waives the right to such consideration by a panel or panel chair.