Attorney Grievance Commission of Maryland v. Dawn R. Jackson, Miscellaneous Docket AG No. 9, September Term, 2020, Opinion by Booth, J. ATTORNEY DISCIPLINE – SANCTIONS – This attorney grievance matter involves an attorney who is licensed in the District of Columbia and not in Maryland. The attorney is a partner in a law firm that employs Maryland attorneys. In 2014, the attorney moved the law firm’s office from the District of Columbia to Maryland. In 2015, the Office of Bar Counsel met with the attorney in her office and made specific recommendations for maintaining an office in Maryland. Three and one-half years later, after receiving an anonymous complaint, the Attorney Grievance Commission opened an investigation into the attorney’s alleged unauthorized practice of law. Although the Court of Appeals concluded that the attorney violated the Maryland Attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct (“MARPC”) 19-305.5, the Court determined that, given the significant and unusual mitigating factors that were present in this case, it would impose no sanction and that dismissal of the proceeding was appropriate. Circuit Court for Prince George’s County Case No.: CAE20-12284 Argued: September 13, 2021 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND Misc. Docket AG No. 9 September Term, 2020 ATTORNEY GRIEVANCE COMMISSION OF MARYLAND v. DAWN R. JACKSON Getty, C.J. McDonald Watts Hotten Booth Biran Raker, Irma S. (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ. Opinion by Booth, J. Pursuant to Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act (§§ 10-1601 et seq. of the State Government Article) this document is authentic. Filed: January 31, 2022 2022-01-31 10:33-05:00 Suzanne C. Johnson, Clerk In this attorney grievance proceeding, the Respondent, Dawn Jackson, is a lawyer admitted to the District of Columbia Bar who is not licensed in Maryland. She is a partner in a law firm, Jackson & Associates. In addition to Ms. Jackson, the law firm also employs Maryland attorneys. In 2014, the law firm relocated from the District of Columbia to Maryland. In 2015, Senior Assistant Bar Counsel Dolores Ridgell met with Ms. Jackson in Ms. Jackson’s Maryland office. During that meeting, Ms. Ridgell made specific recommendations to Ms. Jackson concerning how to maintain her Maryland office in accordance with the Maryland rules of professional conduct. Ms. Jackson incorporated Ms. Ridgell’s recommendations and continued to practice law from her Maryland office. She limited her own practice to matters arising under District of Columbia laws, where she was barred, while also performing administrative matters for the law firm. Three and one-half years after Ms. Ridgell’s visit to Ms. Jackson’s law office, Bar Counsel commenced this investigation on September 19, 2018, after receiving material from an anonymous source. On April 7, 2020, the Attorney Grievance Commission (“Commission”), through Bar Counsel, filed a Petition for Disciplinary or Remedial Action, pursuant to Maryland Rule 19-721, against Ms. Jackson, alleging that she violated numerous provisions of the rules of professional conduct.1 These included alleged 1 During much of the period relevant to this case, the ethical rules governing attorneys were entitled the Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional …
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