Electronically Filed
Supreme Court
SCAD-XX-XXXXXXX
21-JAN-2021
03:21 PM
Dkt. 15 OSUS
SCAD-XX-XXXXXXX
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I
OFFICE OF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL,
Petitioner,
vs.
CHRISTOPHER S.B. WOO,
Respondent.
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
(DB No. 19-9002)
ORDER OF SUSPENSION
(By: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna, Wilson, and Eddins, JJ.)
Upon consideration of the December 11, 2020 report
submitted to this court by the Disciplinary Board of the Hawai#i
Supreme Court regarding Respondent Christopher S.B. Woo, and
following a de novo review of the entire record in this matter
and the record in ODC v. Woo, SCAD-19-355, we make the following
Findings of Fact, and reach the following Conclusions of Law.
We find that Respondent Woo was given proper notice of
the allegations against him and an opportunity to respond, but
did not, and that default against him was therefore properly
entered by the Disciplinary Board. The default notwithstanding,
this court has reviewed the record in this case de novo and has
reached its own conclusions regarding violations of the Hawai#i
Rules of Professional Conduct (HRPC) (2014) and appropriate
discipline.
In ODC Case No. 17-O-222, we find that Respondent Woo
failed, over the course of four months, to provide competent
legal services as promised to his client, before the expiration
of their credit-counseling certificate, despite their repeat
inquiries, in violation of HRPC Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.4(b)
and 3.2, and then withdrew from the representation without proper
consultation, in violation of HRPC Rules 1.16(c) and 1.16(d),
thereby causing them injury (being the loss of their $1,615.00
retainer paid to his firm and the garnishment of $1,437.00 in
wages due to his inaction on their petition). We further find
that Respondent Woo then failed to comply with disciplinary
orders entered in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court regarding his
representation of the same clients, in violation of HRPC Rule
3.4(e). We find that Respondent Woo misrepresented the truth, in
violation of HRPC Rule 8.4(c), when he informed the Office of
Disciplinary Counsel that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s
disciplinary sanctions had been reduced, based in part on the
purported fact that he had signed a settlement with the court,
and based in part on the purported fact the investigation into
his conduct was found to be flawed, when neither assertion was
true.
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In ODC Case No. 19-0276, we find that Respondent Woo
repeatedly failed to appear in court on behalf of his client, in
violation of HRPC Rules 1.1, 1.3, 3.2, and 3.4(e) and failed to
appear in court as ordered to explain his conduct, in violation
of HRPC Rule 3.4(e). We find he engaged in deceitful conduct, in
violation of HRPC Rule 8.4(c), by informing an investigator from
the Prosecutor’s Office that he would cooperate and accept
personal service of an order to show cause but then avoided
service thereafter, and then informed ODC he was unaware of any
attempt of service of the order by the Prosecutor’s Office.
In ODC Case No. 19-0249, we find that Respondent Woo
knowingly practiced law while administratively suspended, in
violation of HRPC Rule 5.5, by filing materials on behalf of a
client in a bankruptcy matter and by making representations on
behalf of a client in a criminal matter. We also find Respondent
Woo, when licensed, repeatedly failed to attend hearings on
behalf of his client, ultimately necessitating his removal from
the case and substitution by other counsel, in violation of HRPC
Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.16(c), 1.16(d), 3.2, and 3.4(e).
In ODC Case No. 19-0410, we find that Respondent Woo
failed to visit, call, or otherwise communicate with his two
clients in a criminal proceeding during the two-month period they
were in custody, in violation of HRPC Rules 1.1, 1.2(a), 1.3, and
1.4(a), failed to attend a pre-trial hearing, in violation of
HRPC Rules 1.3, 3.2, and 3.4(e), and failed to attend court
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hearings on his clients’ matter, including two trial calls,
ultimately necessitating his removal from the representation, in
violation of HRPC Rules 1.1, 1.3, 1.16(c), 1.16(d), 3.2, and
3.4(e). We find that Respondent Woo violated HRPC Rule 3.4(e)
multiple times by failing to respond to orders to show cause,
attend scheduled hearings on those orders, or to pay the
subsequently imposed $250.00 sanction.
We find that Respondent Woo failed to cooperate with
the Office of Disciplinary Counsel’s lawful investigations into
his conduct, in violation of HRPC Rule 8.4(g), and, in violation
of HRPC Rule 8.4(c), misrepresented the truth to an ODC
Investigator when he informed her he had responded to one of the
complaints she was attempting to serve upon him, when he had not.
In aggravation, we find Respondent Woo committed
multiple violations, engaged in bad faith obstruction of the
disciplinary process, refused to accept the wrongful nature of
his conduct, is indifferent to addressing or ameliorating the
injuries he inflicted through his conduct, and has substantial
experience in the practice of law.
In mitigation, we find Woo previously had an
unblemished disciplinary record.
A review of the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer
Sanctions, in particular Standards 4.41 and 6.62, and
disciplinary precedent in this jurisdiction, in particular ODC v.
Russell, SCAD-11-358 (May 23, 2011), ODC v. Collins, SCAD-15-709
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(January 20, 2016), and ODC v. Kea, SCAD-13-135 (July 2, 2013),
lead us to conclude that a substantial period of suspension is
warranted. Therefore,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Respondent Woo is suspended
from the practice of law for five years, which shall be effective
upon entry of this order, in light of his current suspension,
pursuant to Rule 2.12A of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the
State of Hawai#i (RSCH).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent Woo shall pay,
within 10 days of the entry date of this order, his former
clients in ODC Case No. 17-O-222 the sum of $1,437.00,
representing the financial injury inflicted by him upon them for
his failure to perform the representation or to withdraw
responsibly. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel may, on behalf
of those clients, seek further assistance from this court in
securing this payment, including by reducing that amount to a
judgment.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, as a precondition for any
future petition for reinstatement, Respondent Woo shall provide
proof that the same former clients received repayment of the
$1,615.00 legal retainer paid by them to secure his
representation, as well as proof of satisfaction of all
outstanding court-imposed fines and sanctions in the cases in the
record of this matter.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Respondent Woo shall bear
the costs of these disciplinary proceedings, upon the approval of
a timely filed verified bill of costs submitted by the Office of
Disciplinary Counsel.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, January 21, 2021.
/s/ Mark E. Recktenwald
/s/ Paula A. Nakayama
/s/ Sabrina S. McKenna
/s/ Michael D. Wilson
/s/ Todd W. Eddins
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