Attorney Grievance Comm'n of Md. v. Trezevant

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ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. WILLIAM FRANCIS TREZEVANT

AG No. 12-2022

Maryland Supreme Court

July 7, 2023

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MARYLAND ^[*]

Oral Argument waived/submitted on papers

Circuit Court for Baltimore County Case No C-03-CV-22-003427

Fader C.J., Watts, Hotten, Booth, Biran, Gould, Eaves, JJ.

OPINION

Booth J. The Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland ("the Commission"), acting through Bar Counsel, filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action ("the Petition") against Respondent, William Francis Trezevant, an attorney not licensed to practice law in Maryland, alleging that he represented his great-niece in child custody hearings in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County without moving for admission pro hac vice, and that he knowingly and intentionally misrepresented his admission status on multiple occasions. The Commission asserted that Mr. Trezevant violated the Maryland Attorneys' Rules of Professional Conduct ("MARPC")^[1] 1.16(a) (Declining or Terminating Representation), 3.3(a) (Candor to the Tribunal), 4.1(a) (Truthfulness in Statements to Others), 5.5(a) (Unauthorized Practice of Law; Multi-jurisdictional Practice of Law), 8.1(a) (Bar Admission and Disciplinary Matters), and 8.4(a)-(d) (Misconduct).^[2]

The hearing judge assigned to this matter found by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Trezevant committed all of the violations alleged by the Commission. The hearing judge also found the presence of six aggravating factors and one mitigating factor. Bar Counsel recommends a sanction of indefinite suspension with the right to petition for reinstatement in 90 days. Mr. Trezevant never answered the Petition, did not appear at the evidentiary hearing, did not file exceptions to the hearing judge's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, and waived oral argument before this Court. After considering the matter on the papers, for the reasons stated below, we treat the hearing judge's findings of fact as established, concur with the hearing judge's conclusions of law, and impose a sanction of indefinite suspension with the right to petition for reinstatement in 90 days.

I Procedural Background

The Commission filed the Petition on August 10, 2022. Mr. Trezevant was served with the Petition in September and with interrogatories and a request for production of documents in October. He did not file an answer and did not respond to Bar Counsel's discovery requests. Bar Counsel moved for an order of default, which the hearing judge granted. Mr. Trezevant did not move to vacate the order of default.

An evidentiary hearing was held on December 9, 2022. Mr. Trezevant did not appear. The hearing judge deemed the allegations in the Petition admitted pursuant to Maryland Rules 2-613(f) and 19-727(a) and admitted into evidence Bar Counsel's Exhibits 1-35. Those exhibits included, among other things, the transcripts for two remote hearings attended by Mr. Trezevant in connection with a custody case pending in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, and communications between Mr. Trezevant and his great-niece's prior attorney, opposing counsel, and Bar Counsel. The hearing judge considered the evidence admitted at the hearing and issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. Neither party filed exceptions.

Where no exceptions have been filed, this Court may accept the hearing judge's findings of fact as established. Maryland Rule 19-740(b)(2)(A). We choose to do so here. Accordingly, we treat as established the following facts, which the hearing judge found to be proved by clear and convincing evidence.

II Findings of Fact

This case centers on Mr. Trezevant's unauthorized representation of his great-niece, C.A., in her child's custody case in Baltimore County and his communications to Bar Counsel regarding that representation. Mr. Trezevant is an attorney who lives in Washington, D.C. He is not a member of the Maryland Bar. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1994 and the Washington, D.C. Bar in 1996. At the time of the hearing, his D.C. bar license was administratively suspended for non-payment of bar dues.

Representation of C.A.

C.A then fourteen-years old, gave birth to D.S. on October 1, 2019. In January 2020, the Baltimore County Department of Social Services ("the Department") filed a child in need of assistance ("CINA") petition on behalf of D.S. in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County. The Department asserted that neither C.A.'s family members nor the family members of D.S.'s father were suitable resources "due to ongoing family conflict and violence." The same day the Department filed its petition, the Office of the Public Defender appointed a panel attorney, Shannon Stern, to represent C.A. The next day, the circuit court placed D.S. in the Department's custody, and the Department placed the baby in foster care.

Over the course of the next year, C.A. sought to regain custody of D.S. However, after an October 2020 emergency hearing, a November 2020 review hearing, and various meetings with the Department related to those proceedings, a magistrate recommended that D.S. remain in the Department's custody and, in January 2021, a circuit court judge adopted that recommendation. In March 2021, the circuit court scheduled a hearing for April 1, 2021 to craft a permanent placement plan for D.S. Around that time, C.A.'s mother asked Mr. Trezevant "to intervene on behalf of C.A." in D.S.'s CINA case. On or about March 1, C.A. informed her panel attorney, Ms. Stern, that she had retained Mr. Trezevant.

On or about March 2, Ms. Stern called Mr. Trezevant to confirm that he now represented C.A. The hearing judge found that, during the conversation, Mr. Trezevant "did not disclose that he was not a Maryland attorney or that he was related to C.A." The same day, Ms. Stern sent Mr. Trezevant her case files and moved to strike her appearance in D.S.'s CINA case. The circuit court entered an order stating that the motion to strike "would be granted when C.A.'s new attorney entered an appearance in the case."

Mr. Trezevant appeared on behalf of C.A. at the remote April 1 permanency planning review hearing before Magistrate Dilip Paliath. The hearing judge found that Mr. Trezevant "had not sought special admission as an out of state attorney in the case or filed any entry of appearance" and "failed to advise Magistrate Paliath that he was not admitted to practice law in Maryland." Mr. Trezevant advocated for adopting a plan to ultimately place D.S. with C.A. at C.A.'s mother's home, rather than a plan that called for reunification with either parent. Magistrate Paliath adopted the plan proposed by the Department to reunify D.S. with either parent pending further information and efforts by the parents to establish a home consistent with D.S.'s welfare.

Later that month, Mr. Trezevant traded emails with two county employees. On April 14, a social worker at the Department, Sabrina Jackson, emailed Mr. Trezevant to ask if C.A. intended to attend a virtual visit with D.S. that afternoon. In his response, Mr. Trezevant twice referred to C.A. as his client and demanded that Ms. Jackson call him immediately to arrange a visitation schedule. Ms. Jackson then requested that Mr. Trezevant contact Assistant County Attorney Deborah Hermann, who represented the Department. After he did so, Ms. Hermann "asked if [Mr. Trezevant's] appearance was entered in the case and advised that she could not speak with [him] unless his appearance was entered." The hearing judge found that Mr. Trezevant falsely replied that he "filed an oral appearance at the last hearing" and was "received and accepted by the [magistrate], on the record."^[3] He also offered to file a written appearance. Ms. Hermann asked Mr. Trezevant to do so and to confirm that he was licensed to practice law in Maryland. In response, Mr. Trezevant accused Ms. Hermann of using an "administrative" issue to avoid the merits of the case and also asserted that he was "not worried about [his] standing[,]" reiterating that the circuit court had already "approved [his] standing and [his] appearance."

After being alerted to Mr. Trezevant's apparent unauthorized practice of law by Ms. Hermann, Judge Sherrie R. Bailey held a remote hearing on May 3 regarding Mr. Trezevant's representation of C.A. At that hearing, in response to questioning by Judge Bailey, Mr. Trezevant admitted that he was not licensed to practice law in Maryland. When Judge Bailey questioned Mr. Trezevant about the fact that he had not filed a written notice of appearance and had not moved to appear pro hac vice, he stated to Judge Bailey that "I thought that the last appearance that I made, I made the oral motion for my appearance. I thought the [magistrate] granted that but I can certainly cure that with a written letter." And he stated, "I filed that, I thought orally, with the [magistrate], your colleague, pro hac vice. And the [magistrate] granted that, I thought, at the time." The hearing judge found that these statements were "knowingly false and intended to deceive the Court regarding [Mr. Trezevant's] unauthorized practice of law." The hearing judge determined Mr. Trezevant "intentionally concealed" from Magistrate Paliath "that he was not authorized to practice law in Maryland and misrepresented by omission that he was licensed to practice law in Maryland." At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Bailey vacated the previous order that conditionally struck the appearance of C.A.'s panel attorney, Ms. Stern.

Bar Counsel Investigation

That same month, Bar Counsel initiated an investigation in response to a complaint submitted by Judge Bailey. In a May 19 letter, Bar Counsel asked Mr. Trezevant to respond to Judge Bailey's...