IN THE MATTER OF THE REINSTATEMENT OF GLYNN

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IN THE MATTER OF THE REINSTATEMENT OF GLYNN
2013 OK 11
Case Number: SCBD-5931
Decided: 02/25/2013

THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA

FOR PUBLCATION IN OBJ ONLY. NOT RELEASED FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATION.

In the Matter of the Reinstatement of GRANT DAVID GLYNN to membership in the Oklahoma Bar Association and to the Roll of Attorneys.

ORDER OF REINSTATEMENT
TO THE OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION AND ROLL OF ATTORNEYS

¶1 On October 5, 2012, Grant David Glynn (petitioner) filed his petition for reinstatement to membership in the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) and to the Roll of Attorneys pursuant to Rule 11.1 of the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings (RGDP), 5 O.S.2011, ch.1, app.1-A. Petitioner has not filed a previous petition for reinstatement with the OBA. No objection to the petition for reinstatement has been filed with the OBA or this Court.

¶2 Upon receipt of the petition for reinstatement, the OBA caused an investigation to be conducted pursuant to Rule 11.2 of the RGDP. On December 18, 2012, a trial panel of the Professional Responsibility Tribunal of the OBA (PRT) held an evidentiary hearing on the petition for reinstatement in accordance with Rule 11.3 of the RGDP. At the hearing, the OBA announced that it did not contest the petition, and the OBA and petitioner submitted joint exhibits to the PRT. The OBA recommended to the PRT that petitioner be reinstated without taking a regular bar examination.

¶3 On January 16, 2013, the PRT filed its report with the requisite findings in accordance with Rule 11.5 of the RGDP. The two members of the PRT present for the hearing recommended that petitioner be reinstated to membership in the OBA and that his name be reentered on the Roll of Attorneys without requiring him to take a regular bar examination. This Court set a schedule for filing briefs, and on February 6, 2013, the petitioner and the OBA filed a joint waiver of briefs.1

¶4 This Court has exclusive jurisdiction over the licensing of attorneys. In re Reinstatement of Kamins, 1988 OK 32, ¶18, 752 P.2d 1125, 1129. The PRT's findings and recommendations to this Court are advisory in nature. Id. The ultimate decision on a petition for reinstatement rests with this Court, and we make an independent review of the record in the proceeding. Matter of Reinstatement of Swant, 2003 OK 9, ¶4, 65 P.3d 276. Accordingly, we consider the petition for reinstatement to membership in the OBA without deference to the PRT's findings or recommendations.

¶5 The record before us establishes that on May 4, 1996, petitioner was graduated from the University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa, Oklahoma. On September 27, 1996, petitioner was admitted to the OBA and assigned OBA number 17035, and his name was entered on the Roll of Attorneys. Petitioner practiced law in the state of Oklahoma from November 4, 1996 until May 1, 2002, the date petitioner relocated to the state of Wisconsin to be near his extended family. Petitioner has not practiced law in the state of Oklahoma since May of 2002.

¶6 The record shows that petitioner submitted his voluntary resignation in writing to the OBA on February 20, 2003. Petitioner's name was stricken from the OBA Roll of Attorneys on February 21, 2003. No complaints or disciplinary actions against petitioner were pending before the OBA at the time of his resignation and none have been submitted to the OBA thereafter.

¶7 The record shows that petitioner, in anticipation of his move to Wisconsin in May of 2002, closed down his Tulsa practice which consisted primarily of bankruptcy and personal injury insurance matters. He passed the remaining clients to a Tulsa attorney. At the time of his resignation, petitioner had no clients to be notified of his resignation under Rule 9.1 of the RGDP, and petitioner did not owe funds to the Client Security Fund. Rule 11.1(b) of the RGDP.

¶8 The record reveals that on February 13, 2002, petitioner was admitted to the Wisconsin Bar Association. In May of 2002, petitioner accepted a position as an associate with a law firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and within a few months, petitioner established his own practice in Wisconsin consisting mostly of bankruptcy matters. In February of 2003, petitioner created Lake View Law Offices, S.C., and he is the president and sole shareholder of the corporation. That same February, petitioner submitted his resignation to the OBA due to financial problems. In August of 2005, petitioner and his wife filed for bankruptcy protection. A part of petitioner's financial problems stemmed from his failure to pay withholding income taxes for his employees and himself to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service. Petitioner timely filed the state and federal returns, but did not timely pay the taxes. Petitioner has resolved most of the tax indebtedness. He has an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to pay the withholding taxes in installments. At the time of the hearing before the PRT, petitioner owed $3,300.00 to the Internal Revenue Service and he was current on his monthly installments to the Internal Revenue Service.

¶9 The record also shows that in 2010, petitioner's wife and his children relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to be near her extended family. Petitioner's wife's job was eliminated in 2008, but she was allowed to stay at her job until she found a new job. Petitioner's wife secured a job in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Petitioner has continued to practice law in Wisconsin while his wife and their four children reside in Tulsa. Petitioner spends one week each month with his family in Tulsa. Petitioner wants to move back to Tulsa with his family.

¶10 At the PRT hearing, petitioner offered testimony, by telephone, from an Oklahoma attorney in Tulsa who is a soccer coach and family friend; the Oklahoma attorney who took over petitioner's clients when he moved to Wisconsin; a Chapter Seven Panel Trustee in Wisconsin; petitioner's former battalion commander who is an attorney licensed in Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Petitioner also testified. The jointly offered exhibits included the certificate of good standing from the Wisconsin Supreme Court and recommendation letters from a bankruptcy judge and a Chapter 13 Standing Trustee in Wisconsin. The testimony and letters from those who have worked with petitioner praise his intelligence, honesty, dedication, and sense of responsibility. The letters from the bankruptcy court in Wisconsin show that petitioner is respected for his competency in the law and his professional integrity. The evidence from those who know petitioner outside his profession praise his dedication to family and his personal honesty. The evidence shows that petitioner, when faced with tax indebtedness, worked with the state and federal agencies as a responsible citizen to pay the debt. The evidence in this record is clear and convincing that petitioner is well respected for his competency in the law and for his professional and personal integrity.

¶11 The record also shows that petitioner has maintained his legal skills since resigning from the OBA. Petitioner kept abreast of developments in Oklahoma law by reading Oklahoma Bar Journal cases and recently taking Oklahoma continuing legal education. Although petitioner's primary area of practice is federal bankruptcy, petitioner often faces foreclosure and probate state law issues. Petitioner has recently taken Oklahoma continuing legal education classes in probate and real estate law to keep abreast of developments in Oklahoma law. The OBA stipulated that petitioner has the competency and learning to be readmitted to membership in the OBA without the necessity of a regular bar examination. The evidence in this record is clear and convincing that petitioner has maintained his legal skills and competency in the law.

¶12 The record reflects that petitioner did not violate the Rules for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE). 5 O.S.2013, ch. 1, app. 1-B. According to the affidavit of the MCLE Administrator of the OBA, there are no penalties or reinstatement fees for MCLE applicable to this reinstatement application; and if reinstated, petitioner "will need to obtain 12 hours of CLE, including one hour of ethics, or obtain a waiver, for the calendar year in which reinstatement is granted." See MCLE Rules 3, 5, and 6.

¶13 The record further shows that the Client Security Fund has not expended any money on behalf of petitioner, see Rule 11.1(b) of the RGDP, and that petitioner has agreed to pay the expenses of investigation and hearing on her petition for reinstatement, see Rule 11.1(c) of the RGDP. The OBA has requested costs of the investigation and hearing be assessed in the total amount of $714.92. Petitioner has not objected or otherwise responded to the requested costs.

¶14 We find that petitioner has satisfied the requirements for reinstatement as required by Rule 11.1 of the RGDP. Petitioner has affirmatively established by clear and convincing evidence that he has the character and qualifications to conform to the high standards required of members of the OBA. See Rules 11.4 and 11.5 of the RGDP. The letters and testimony submitted to the PRT clearly and convincingly demonstrate that petitioner possesses the good moral character that would entitle him to be admitted to membership in the OBA. See Rules 11.4 and 11.5(a) of the RGDP. Petitioner's testimony, the stipulations by the OBA, and the exhibits submitted to the PRT clearly and convincingly demonstrate that petitioner has not engaged in the practice of law since his resignation from the OBA, as required by Rule 11.4 and 11.5(b) of the RGDP, and that petitioner has the competency and learning to be readmitted to membership in the OBA without the necessity of taking a regular bar examination. See Rule 11.5(c) of the RGDP.

¶15 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that petitioner, Grant David Glynn, OBA #17035, be reinstated to membership in the Oklahoma Bar Association and that his name be reinstated on the Roll of Attorneys licensed to practice law in the State of Oklahoma. It is further ordered that petitioner shall pay costs of these proceedings in the amount of $714.92 and the OBA membership dues for the 2013 calendar year in the amount of $275.00. Reinstatement is conditioned upon payment of the costs and his 2013 dues to the OBA within twenty (20) days from the date this order is filed with the Clerk of this Court. Upon reinstatement, petitioner must complete and report additional continuing legal education for the 2013 calendar year.

¶16 DONE BY ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT IN CONFERENCE this 25th day of February, 2013.

/S/CHIEF JUSTICE

ALL JUSTICES CONCUR.

FOOTNOTES

1 The parties captioned the waiver as a "Joint Motion for Waiver of Briefs." We treat the filing as the parties' joint waiver of briefs.

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