IN RE: RICHARD L. GOODMAN
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
TO BE PUBLISHED
8’
F. -1
---\
:
\
‘\
/
;
‘I ~ ,
:
I’ !
\
‘. _. _.- .- /
L!
---.., __ ‘\, ‘. , _ _-. ---- ’
--
IN RE: RICHARD L. GOODMAN
OPINION AND ORDER
By order of this Court dated April 21, 2000, Richard L. Goodman was
suspended from the practice of law in Kentucky for the non-payment of dues to the
Kentucky Bar Association for the fiscal year which began on July 1, 1999. See SCR
3.040. He has now moved to set aside said order, alleging that his non-payment was
inadvertent and caused by 1) the failure of the United States Postal Service to forward
his mail as requested, and; 2) the failure of his former partners to deliver to him any
mail delivered to his prior address as promised. He does not, however, allege that he
complied with SCR 3.175, which requires that “each attorney shall maintain with the
director of the Association a current address which he or she may be communicated
with by mail and shall upon a change of that address notify the Director within thirty (30)
days of the new address.”
We note that Goodman’s dues notices, sent to his record address, were returned
to the KBA, as was an order directing him to show cause why he should not be
’
suspended for nonpayment of dues. The only letter not returned to the KBA with a
return to sender label was the order of suspension. The KBA responds to Goodman’s
motion by noting that it appears Goodman did not act intentionally in failing to pay his
dues, that said dues have now been paid, and that he has acted promptly in attempting
to rectify the actions that led to his suspension. As noted by the KBA, we can consider
mitigation when disciplining Goodman’s earlier failure to comply with SCR 3.175.
On other occasions, this Court has looked less kindly upon the failure to notify
the KBA of a change of address or name as required by SCR 3.200, see Allen v. KBA,
Ky., 985 S.W.2d 347 (1999) but such cases generally involve misconduct that results
in injury to a client or a misrepresentation to the court of justice. Here, the person most
injured is Goodman, who has no prior disciplinary history whatsoever and who has been
deeply distressed by this proceeding. We, therefore, GRANT Goodman’s Motion to Set
Aside Suspension, and assess a fine of $500.00 for failure to pay his dues for the fiscal
year of 1999-2000 in a timely fashion, upon payment of which he shall be reinstated to
good standing with the Kentucky Bar Association.
All concur.
ENTERED: June 152000.
FOR GOODMAN:
FWKENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION:
Richard L. Goodman
The Lawrence Firm
425 Walnut Street
2100 Firstar Tower
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Bruce K. Davis
Executive Director
Kentucky Bar Association
514 West Main Street
Frankfort, KY 40601
-2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.