In the Matter of the Reinstatement of Diana Lynn Mooreland-Rucker, to Membership in the Oklahoma Bar Association and to the Roll of Attorneys

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court granted Diana Lynn Mooreland-Rucker's petition for reinstatement to the Oklahoma Bar, conditioned on payment of costs and current dues. The court held that her prior operation of a Texas bankruptcy practice without admission to the Texas bar violated Oklahoma's professional-conduct rules, but declined to impose discipline because Texas had not addressed the issue and applied its ruling prospectively. The court warned that resuming the same conduct would constitute unauthorized practice of law and warrant discipline.

Holdings

1. The Supreme Court of Oklahoma exercises original jurisdiction and reviews reinstatement proceedings de novo.
2. The petitioner satisfied the applicable procedural and evidentiary requirements for reinstatement, including payment of dues and penalties, proof of good moral character, compliance with notice requirements, and proof that she had not practiced law during the suspension period.
3. Admission to practice before a federal district or bankruptcy court does not authorize an attorney who is not admitted to the state bar to establish a continuous and systematic law practice from an office in that state or to conduct the general practice of law there.
4. The Court found that the petitioner's prior conduct violated the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct because she was not admitted in Texas, maintained a continuous and systematic presence there, and rendered bankruptcy-related legal services that could not reasonably be characterized as limited solely to federal law.
5. Although the Court found that the petitioner's prior conduct violated the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct, it declined to extend discipline under a Rule 11 adjudication because Texas had not addressed the relevant unauthorized-practice issue; the Court therefore applied its warning prospectively.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Mooreland-Rucker met the procedural and evidentiary requirements for reinstatement under Rule 11.5 of the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings.
2. Whether an Oklahoma-licensed attorney's continuous and systematic Texas bankruptcy practice from a Texas office, while not admitted to the Texas Bar, constituted unauthorized practice of law under the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct.
3. Whether the Court should deny reinstatement or extend discipline based on the attorney's prior conduct when Texas had not definitively addressed the unauthorized-practice issue for out-of-state practitioners.

Disposition

other