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In re Roxborough6/7/2001
o pay his tax obligations to Maryland and the District of Columbia, and stating the steps he has taken toward a similar arrangement with the IRS, Petitioner wisely has spread out those payments so the pressure of paying the tax authorities will not pre-empt any ability by Petitioner to make progress on restitution.
The Board also puts very substantial weight on Bar Counsel's lack of objection to the restitution plan and to Petitioner's reinstatement while restitution proceeds. Under these circumstances, adherence to the schedule should be a condition of reinstatement, but it should not be absolutely required that restitution is complete before reinstatement. See In re Kerr, 675 A.2d 59 (D.C. 1996)(per curiam).
4. The Attorney's Present Character
The Hearing Committee
was struck both by the humility and candor of Mr. Roxborough's testimony. He seems genuinely contrite for his past mistakes while not blaming anyone for them except himself. He has shouldered the blame for some of these events even though substantial, even primary, responsibility for the untoward events may lie with his former partner in the firm. Mr. Roxborough had ample opportunity to blame others for these events and a substantial factual basis for doing so. Nonetheless, he made no effort during his testimony to suggest that the misconduct of others somehow excused his own failings. Hearing Committee Report at 20.
The Hearing Committee also was impressed with Petitioner's candid discussion of his own physical and mental frailties. He underwent two years of psychotherapy, which has given Petitioner insight into his past problems and some mechanisms for coping with stress. Again, the Committee was struck by Petitioner's demonstration of his understanding of the psychological causes of his previous problems.
5. Petitioner's Present Ability to Practice Law
The Hearing Committee found "that Mr. Roxborough has the present capacity to practice law." Hearing Committee Report at 21. He has served as a paralegal for other lawyers. Tr. I 137. He provided copies of motions and memoranda that he had drafted and provided to the lawyers for whom he had worked. As the Committee heard no evidence about the facts in any of these cases, it found it impossible to determine whether these motions and memoranda were complete or accurate. Hearing Committee Report at 21. However, it found that the memoranda are well-written, well-argued and indistinguishable in overall quality from the kind of written work product that practicing lawyers routinely submit to federal tribunals. Petitioner testified that he had monitored classes at Howard Law School to try to keep current in the law. He completed a course on professional responsibility in 1998. He has learned how to conduct legal research using computerized services such as Lexis. Bar Counsel concedes that Petitioner has the present ability to practice law.
The Hearing Committee also considered the evidence bearing on whether Petitioner has shown fitness as required by D.C. App. R. XI, ยง 13(g). The Committee heard persuasive testimony from two psychotherapists who had examined Mr. Roxborough. One, Dr. Smothers, had treated Petitioner every week from February 1996 to August 1998. (Petitioner stopped the sessions when his health insurance ran out.) The other, Dr. Ratner, examined Petitioner at the request of Bar Counsel in January and February 1995.
Dr. Ratner, who had examined Petitioner first, diagnosed a moderately severe mental disorder. He portrayed Petitioner as a narcissistic individual with an inflated sense of self-worth. Petitioner also had a depressive disorder, anxiety symptoms, and manic mood swings
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