Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Md. v. Singh

464 Md. 645

212 A.3d 888

ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND

v.Raj Sanjeet SINGH

Misc. Docket AG No. 6, Sept. Term, 2018

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

July 17, 2019

Argued by Lydia E. Lawless, Esquire, Bar Counsel (Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland), for Petitioner.

Argued by Robert Charles Bonsib (MarcusBonsib, LLC, Greenbelt, MD), for Respondent.

Argued before: Barbera, C.J.,^* Greene, McDonald, Watts, Hotten, Getty, Sally D. Adkins (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.

McDonald, J.

The phrase "no harm, no foul" derives from the idea that, if a foul committed in a basketball game does not affect the outcome, the referee should not call the foul.¹ It denotes harmless error in a sports context. The rules of professional conduct governing attorneys do not allow us to adopt that approach. Many of those rules are prophylactic in nature. We must call a foul when one is committed, although the severity of the harm – or a lack of harm – may affect the sanction.

Respondent Raj Sanjeet Singh is a Maryland attorney who primarily practices immigration law from an office in Montgomery County. In 2014, Mr. Singh successfully represented an immigrant and the immigrant's spouse, who was a United States citizen, in obtaining conditional permanent resident status for the immigrant for a two-year period based on their recent marriage. Mr. Singh advised them to return to him well before that status expired in order to remove the conditions and the time limit.

The immigrant and the spouse later experienced marital difficulties. Mr. Singh failed to respond promptly to the immigrant's inquiries concerning his options as to permanent resident status. When Mr. Singh acceded to the immigrant's request in 2016 that he research potential criminal charges against the spouse, Mr. Singh had a conflict of interest based on his prior representation of both spouses. A fee dispute also ensued, and the immigrant filed a complaint with Bar Counsel.

In response, Mr. Singh gave a refund to the immigrant and forwarded to Bar Counsel a release from the client that did not comply with the ethical rule governing attorney settlements with clients. During the course of Bar Counsel's investigation, Mr. Singh also made a misleading statement under oath concerning his general compliance with the rules requiring deposit of client funds in an attorney trust account.

In the end, there was no evidence of misappropriation or any indication that client funds were used other than for their intended purpose. The immigrant ultimately obtained unconditional permanent resident status, apparently using the strategy proposed by Mr. Singh. While no one may have suffered harm from Mr. Singh's violations of the ethical rules, those rules are designed to ensure that attorneys are conscientious in their representation of clients and do not take advantage of them. Even in the absence of harm, we cannot ignore the foul. Given the context of Mr. Singh's otherwise unblemished career and successful representation of this client, the appropriate sanction for these violations is suspension for 60 days.

IBackground

A. Procedural Context

On May 24, 2018, the Attorney Grievance Commission ("Commission"), through Bar Counsel, filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action against Mr. Singh, alleging that he had violated numerous provisions of the rules of professional conduct.² These included alleged violations of Rule 1.1 (competence); Rule 1.2 (scope of representation); Rule 1.3 (diligence); Rule 1.4 (communication); Rule 1.5 (reasonableness of fees); Rule 1.7 (conflict of interest – generally); Rule 1.8 (conflict of interest – specific rules); Rule 1.9 (duties to former clients); Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property); Rule 8.1 (false statement in connection with a disciplinary matter); Rule 8.4 (misconduct); as well as violations of Maryland Rules 19-404 (trust account – deposits) and 19-407 (trust account recordkeeping). Bar Counsel later withdrew the charges pertaining to the reasonableness of fees and trust account recordkeeping.

Pursuant to Rule 19-722(a), we designated Judge Kevin G. Hessler of the Circuit Court for Montgomery County to conduct a hearing concerning the alleged violations and to provide findings of fact and conclusions of law. Following a hearing in October 2018, the hearing judge concluded that Mr. Singh had violated Rule 1.3, Rule 1.4, Rule 1.7, Rule 1.8, Rule 1.15(a) & (c), Rule 8.1, Rule 8.4(a), (c), & (d), and Maryland Rule 19-404. The hearing judge concluded that there was insufficient evidence of violations of Rule 1.1, Rule 1.2, and Rule 1.9.

Bar Counsel did not except to the hearing judge's findings or conclusions other than in minor respects.³ Mr. Singh filed a number of exceptions. In particular, Mr. Singh took issue with the hearing judge's conclusions concerning the alleged violations of Rule 1.3, Rule 1.4, Rule 1.7, Rule 1.8, Rule 8.1, and Rule 8.4. Mr. Singh conceded, as he had at the hearing, that he had violated Rule 1.15 concerning safekeeping of client funds and Maryland Rule 19-404 concerning required deposits in his attorney trust account.

B. Facts

When no exception is made to a hearing judge's finding of fact, we accept it as established. Maryland Rule 19-741(b)(2)(A). When a party excepts to a finding, we must determine whether the finding is established by the requisite standard of proof – in the case of an allegation of misconduct, clear and convincing evidence. Maryland Rules 19-741(b)(2)(B), 19-727(c). We summarize below the hearing judge's findings and other undisputed matters in the record. We address any exceptions in relation to the findings to which they pertain.

Mr. Singh's Credentials and Practice

Mr. Singh has been a member of the Maryland Bar since 1998. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in accounting and earned his law degree from the University of Richmond Law School. He initially worked at PriceWaterhouseCoopers before starting his own law firm in Montgomery County in 2000. As a solo practitioner, he has focused his practice primarily on immigration law, although he has also worked on family law matters and business transactions.

His immigration practice consists of family immigration, asylum applications, and deportation defense matters. During the period relevant to this case, he employed a legal assistant, Linda Villanueva, who is fluent in Spanish as well as English.

Mr. A – a Client with an Immigration Issue

This case grew out of Mr. Singh's representation of an individual who we shall refer to as Mr. A,⁴ an immigrant from Brazil. Mr. A was born in Americana, Brazil, in 1984 and came to the United States in January 2007 on a J-1 cultural exchange visa. Since coming to the United States, Mr. A has held a variety of jobs at fast food restaurants, pizzerias, and delivery and ride hailing services.

Mr. A speaks Portuguese, Spanish, and some English, although he is not fully comfortable in English. He testified through a translator at the hearing of this case, although he was able to discuss exhibits that were in English – some written by Mr. A himself. At Mr. Singh's office, Ms. Villanueva sometimes functioned as a translator, speaking with Mr. A in Spanish, and then repeating the substance in English for Mr. Singh.

On March 14, 2014, Mr. A married Mr. J, a citizen of the United States whom he had met in 2010 and who lived in Alexandria, Virginia. At the time of the marriage, Mr. A's visa was no longer valid. To address Mr. A's immigration status, Mr. A and Mr. J sought Mr. Singh's assistance.

Applying for and Obtaining a Conditional Green Card for Mr. A

On April 1, 2014, Mr. A met with Mr. Singh at his office. Mr. Singh agreed to represent Mr. A and his spouse in the effort to obtain permanent resident status for Mr. A, and the accompanying documentation, commonly known as a "green card."⁵ Mr. Singh obtained relevant information from Mr. A and Mr. J in order to file an I-130 petition ("Petition for Alien Relative") by Mr. J, an I-485 form ("Application to Register Permanent Residence") by Mr. A, and related forms with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS").⁶

On May 15, 2014, Mr. Singh met with both Mr. A and Mr. J to ensure that the documents were complete and accurate. That same day, he mailed to USCIS the relevant immigration forms, as well as tax transcripts, birth certificates, Mr. A's passport and medical examination results, and their marriage license. In connection with that filing, Mr. Singh entered his appearance as attorney on behalf of both spouses. Mr. Singh followed up with additional documentation requested by USCIS. In August 2014, USCIS approved Mr. A's authorization for employment and also advised him that he and Mr. J had been scheduled for an interview on October 2, 2014.

In September 2014, Mr. A and Mr. J met with Mr. Singh in his office to prepare for their USCIS interview. Mr. Singh advised them as to the types of questions they would be asked during the interview and they reviewed their answers with him. Mr. Singh did not accompany them to the interview.

Shortly after the USCIS interview on October 2, 2014, Mr. A received a conditional green card with an expiration date two years hence – October 2, 2016. Mr. A's permanent resident status was conditional because the marriage was less than two years old at the time of application. USCIS advised Mr. A to apply for removal of the conditions several months before his conditional green card would expire. Mr. Singh told Mr. A and Mr. J to contact him three to six months before the expiration date for the purpose of preparing an I-751 form ("Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence").

As we shall see, Mr. A eventually was able to remove the conditions from his green card, but neither the marriage nor the attorney-client relationship lasted to that time.

The Breakdown of Mr. A's Marriage

In 2015, approximately one year into the marriage, Mr. A and Mr. J began to experience marital problems. According...