BAR ACTIONS Discipline Note: About 15,000 persons are eligible to practice law in Oregon. Some of them share the same name or similar names. All disci- pline reports should be read carefully for names, addresses and bar numbers. SCOTT P. BOWMAN OSB #032174 Gladstone Public reprimand Pursuant to a stipulation for discipline approved by the Oregon State Bar Disci- plinary Board on May 5, 2016, Scott P. Bowman was publicly reprimanded for violation of RPC 1.5(c)(3) (improper fee agreement) and RPC 8.1(a)(2) (failure to cooperate with the bar). Bowman stipulated that his writ- ten fee agreement provided for a flat fee, earned on receipt, but failed to advise his clients that the fee would not be depos- ited into a lawyer trust account or that the clients could discharge Bowman at any time and, in that event, could be entitled to a refund of all or part of the fee if Bow- man had not completed all or part of the services for which the flat fee had been paid. Bowman also stipulated that he had knowingly failed to respond to disciplin- ary counsel’s lawful requests for informa- tion about his conduct. The sanction was determined in con- sideration of Bowman’s past disciplin- ary record, substantial experience in the practice of law, substantial personal and medical problems and interim rehabili- tation, and a misunderstanding of com- munications from disciplinary counsel’s office. CHARLES P. MORTIMER OSB #051670 Seattle Form B resignation On May 5, 2016, the Oregon Supreme Court accepted the Form B resignation 44 OREGON STATE BAR BULLETIN • JULY 2016 of Charles P. Mortimer of Seattle, Wash. Mortimer submitted his resignation fol- lowing a Washington State Bar Asso- ciation disciplinary proceeding which resulted in his resignation with discipline pending, effective Feb. 23, 2016. In the Washington disciplinary pro- ceeding, Mortimer admitted that from November 2012 through April 2015, he engaged in a pattern of informing cli- ents and the law firm at which he was employed that he had performed specific work on clients’ cases and submitted bill- ings for this alleged work when he knew he had not performed such work. Mortim- er’s law firm relied upon his false reports of work performed and billed its clients for services not rendered. FRANCO DORIAN FERRUA OSB #923014 Brazil 181-day suspension, $12,500 restitution Effective May 10, 2016, Franco Dorian Ferrua (“Ferrua”) was suspended for 181 days for violations of the follow- ing: RPC 1.3 (neglect of a legal matter); RPC 1.4(a) (failure to keep a client rea- sonably informed and respond to rea- sonable requests for information); RPC 1.5(a) (collecting a clearly excessive fee); RPC 1.5(c)(3) (failure to include neces- sary language required in a flat fee agree- ment); RPC 1.15-1(a) (failure to deposit and hold client funds in trust account); RPC 1.15-1(c) (failure to deposit client funds into trust and withdraw them only as earned); RPC 1.15-1(d) (failure to re- turn client property and provide account- ing to client); and RPC 8.4(a)(4) (con- duct prejudicial to the administration of justice). He will be subject to formal rein- statement, conditioned on his payment of $12,500 in restitution. Ferrua was retained to defend a client in a federal criminal matter, for which he charged and collected a flat fee of $15,000. Notwithstanding the absence of a signed, written flat fee agreement, Fer- rua did not deposit the client’s funds in trust upon receipt. Ferrua performed little or no substantive work on the case, and he did not respond to his incarcerated client’s requests for information. When Ferrua failed to communicate with the court about his readiness for trial or to file a motion to withdraw days before a jury trial was set to begin, the judge removed Ferrua and appointed a federal public de- fender to represent the client. Thereafter, Ferrua refused his former client’s requests for an accounting or a refund for the un- earned portion of the fee. Ferrua acted with dishonest and self- ish motives, employed deceptive practices during the disciplinary process, and refused to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct or provide restitution, all of which aggravated his conduct in this matter. GREGORY P. OLIVEROS OSB #910837 Clackamas 60-day suspension, all stayed; three-year probation Effective May 16, 2016, the disciplin- ary board approved a stipulation for dis- cipline suspending Clackamas attorney Gregory Oliveros for 60 days for viola- tions of RPC 1.1 (competence) and RPC 1.7(a)(1) and (2) (current-client and per- sonal-interest conflicts). The suspension is stayed pending Oliveros’s successful completion of a three-year term of proba- tion focusing on improved competence and practice management. A retired couple whose home was in foreclosure hired Oliveros to use half of a residual inheritance to reinstate their mortgage and pay bills. The other half was to be invested as Oliveros directed to generate income that would supplement their only other source of income, Social Security. Oliveros got the mortgage rein- stated and then introduced the couple to two prospective borrowers whom his firm represented in unrelated matters. Both were seeking short-term loans. Through one of the borrowers, the couple met a third prospective borrower.