BOG4_Results

Board of Governors Resolution No. 4

 

 

Amend Oregon RPC 8.4(a)(7)

Whereas, the Legal Ethics Committee and the Board of Governors formulated the following amendment to the Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(a)(7);

Whereas, the House of Delegates must approve any changes in the rules of professional conduct before they are presented to the Oregon Supreme Court for adoption pursuant to ORS 9.490(1); now, therefore, be it

Resolved, that the amendment of Oregon Rules of Professional Conduct 1.8(d) as set forth below is approved and shall be submitted to the Oregon Supreme Court for adoption:

RULE 8.4 MISCONDUCT

(a) It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:

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(7) in the course of representing a client in the practice of law, knowingly intimidate or harass a person because of that person’s race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, or disability.

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(c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(7), a lawyer shall not be prohibited from engaging in legitimate advocacy with respect to the bases set forth therein.

 

 

Oregon RPC 8.4(a)(7) was passed in 2015 prior to the American Bar Association (ABA) adopting a similar rule within the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. The ABA’s analogue to RPC 8.4(a)(7), Model Rule of Professional Conduct (ABA MR) 8.4(g), was passed in 2016. In February 2022, the Board of Governors (BOG) requested the Legal Ethics Committee (LEC) review Oregon RPC 8.4(a)(7) and recommend whether the rule should be amended to more closely conform to ABA MR 8.4(g).

ABA MR 8.4(g) reads as follows:

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:

*     *      *

(g) engage in conduct that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is harassment or discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status or socioeconomic status in conduct related to the practice of law. This paragraph does not limit the ability of a lawyer to accept, decline or withdraw from a representation in accordance with Rule 1.16. This paragraph does not preclude legitimate advice or advocacy consistent with these Rules.

The LEC formed a subcommittee that met over 2022 to review Oregon RPC 8.4(a)(7) and ABA MR 8.4(g). Upon the presentation of the findings of the subcommittee to the LEC, the LEC recommended two changes to RPC 8.4(a)(7).

First, the LEC recommended changing the phrase “in the course of representing a client” to “in the practice of law.” This phrase was felt to be broader and encompasses actions taken by lawyers in their role practicing law, which may not necessarily occur while representing a client. At the same time, it strikes a reasonable balance between the free speech rights of the attorney under the Oregon Constitution and the professional responsibilities of the attorney as an officer of the court. Conduct that would be considered inappropriate behavior while practicing law would be subject to discipline under this new provision. Oregon RPC 8.4(c) still contains an exception specifically for attorneys providing legitimate advocacy.

The LEC also noted that “ethnicity” was omitted from Oregon RPC 8.4(a)(7). The LEC recommended the addition of “ethnicity.”

The BOG agrees with the recommendations from the LEC and urges adoption of the proposed amendments.

 

Financial Impact

None stated.

Presenter:
Elizabeth Inayoshi, BOG, Region 4

 

 

Vote Percentages

Yes Votes: 131
No Votes: 14
Abstentions: 9

 

Vote Tally

Name
Yes
Catherine Schulist Yes
Nicholas Yanchar Yes
Jeremiah Ross Yes
Joanna Posey Yes
Emil Ali Yes
Sonya Fischer Yes
Joseph Walsh Yes
Ryan Jennings Yes
Michelle Vlach-Ing Yes
Peter Werner Yes
Joseph Piucci Yes
Timothy Williams Yes
Jennifer Kinzey Yes
Andrew Mittendorf Yes
Nora Coon Yes
Kristen Farnworth Yes
Richard Adams Yes
Victoria Dethloff Yes
John Devlin Yes
Elizabeth Savage Yes
Melanie Timmins Yes
Karen Moore Yes
Matthew McKean Yes
Christopher Larsen Yes
Derek Larwick Yes
Jordan Schoonover Yes
Justin Wright Yes
Stephanie Engelsman Yes
Joshua Lay Yes
Colleen Gilmartin Yes
Laura Coffin Yes
Stephanie Brown Yes
Ron Cheng Yes
Ryan Bickler Yes
Justin Kidd Yes
Russell Garrett Yes
Aurelia Erickson Yes
John Bachofner Yes
Kari Furnanz Yes
Benjamin Haile Yes
Michael Lowry Yes
Esther Smith Yes
Michelle Burrows Yes
Kimberly Fisher Yes
Theresa (Terry) Wright Yes
Heather Decker Yes
James Klonoski Yes
Cassie Jones Yes
Trevor Byrd Yes
Marilyn Heiken Yes
Emet Klepper Yes
Randy Harvey Yes
Andrea Madison Yes
Kathryn Clarke Yes
Maureen McGee Yes
H Zamudio Yes
Joseph Connelly Yes
Meliah Schultzman Yes
Curtis Peterson Yes
Mark Johnson-Roberts Yes
Kay Teague Yes
Kristie Gibson Yes
Sonia Montalbano Yes
Alison Pear Yes
Debra Maryanov Yes
Aaron Reichenberger Yes
Jus Singh Yes
James Gregory Yes
Lake James Perriguey Yes
Bradley Thayer Yes
Amanda Caffall Yes
Caleb Berthelsen Yes
Joshua Gums Yes
Victory Walker Yes
David Wade Yes
John Marandas Yes
Mary Pool Yes
Steven Arntt Yes
Adam LeBrun Yes
Brian Gardner Yes
Joseph Hesbrook Yes
Anastasia Gogol Yes
Earl Christison Yes
John Schlosser Yes
Tasha Winkler Yes
Amber Labrecque Yes
Juhi Aggarwal Yes
Andrew Schpak Yes
Emily Templeton Yes
Andrew Johnson Yes
Howard Newman Yes
Xi Chen Yes
Myah Kehoe Yes
Elizabeth Inayoshi Yes
Andrea Flanagan Yes
David Rosen Yes
Christopher Hill Yes
Jovanna Patrick Yes
Steven Berman Yes
James Dwyer Yes
David Doyle Yes
David Robinson Yes
Christopher Rounds Yes
Keiler Beers Yes
Janae Bly Yes
Barbara Long Yes
Damien Munsinger Yes
Elizabeth Knight Yes
Emily Shack Yes
Ryan Shannon Yes
Kellie Furr Yes
Vanessa Nordyke Yes
Robert Schulhof Yes
Ryan Collier Yes
Frederick Lundblade Yes
William Dozier Yes
Shannon Flowers Yes
Robert Milesnick Yes
Angela Engstrom Yes
Jason Mitchell Yes
Evan Christopher Yes
Apolinar Montero-Sanchez Yes
Kelsey Heilman Yes
Leslie Johnson Yes
Robert Kline Yes
Jason Posner Yes
Tyler Yeoman-Millette Yes
Megan Burgess Yes
Tomas Hernandez Yes
Jinnifer Mariman Yes
Tim Eblen Yes
Name
No
Jon Conde No
Erin Lufkin No
Douglas Primmer No
Christopher Bergstrom No
Wendie Kellington No
Amy Bingham No
David Wu No
Shallon Halttunen No
Michael Stevens No
Andrew Teitelman No
Christopher Piekarski No
Kurt Mabis No
Blaine Clooten No
Ronald Elzinga No
Name
Abstain
Paul Vames Abstain
Nicole Tudhope Abstain
Benjamin Cramer Abstain
Melissa Bobadilla Abstain
Erin Christison Abstain
Krista Evans Abstain
Greg Raburn Abstain
Christopher Cauble Abstain
Jason Voorhees Abstain