On August 8, 2022, the District of Columbia Office of Disciplinary Counsel issued a Letter of Informal Admonition to Brian J. Hooper for alleged incompetence, and lack of communication.
The case is styled ‘In the matter of Brian J. Hooper, with Case No #2020-D157.
The charges cited rules of professional conduct Rules 1.1(a), 1.1(b), 1.3(a), 1.3(c), 1.4(a), and 1.4(b) under the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct states that:
A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.
A lawyer shall serve a client with skill and care commensurate with that generally afforded to clients by other lawyers in similar matters.
A lawyer shall represent a client zealously and diligently within the bounds of the law.
A lawyer shall act with reasonable promptness in representing a client.
A lawyer shall keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.
A lawyer shall explain a matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit the client to make informed decisions regarding the representation.
The rules of professional conduct can be found at https://www.dcbar.org/for-lawyers/legal-ethics/rules-of-professional-conduct.
The Letter of Informal Admonition states:
“In addressing the attorney’s incompetence, it was said that “You late-filed pleadings on several occasions, which the court ultimately accepted for consideration. The pleadings you filed were non-responsive to the pending motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction or appeared to be incomplete drafts. We recognize that the litigation advanced during the initial COVID lockdown, which generated significant chaos and confusion in the courts and for pending matters.”
The filing continues:
“In accounting for the mitigating factors, The Disciplinary Counsel stated: “You failed to inform your clients that their case was dismissed. In July 2020, C.F. discovered from the court that the case had been dismissed. Throughout the representation, you failed to adequately communicate with C.F. or other family members about the status of the matter . The few emails or text messages that you did sen d were generally short, vague, or ambiguous. You gave C.F. several reasons for your lack of communication including: a relative passing away, family issues, and your own serious illness . You scheduled multiple phone conferences with plaintiffs but failed to attend . In response to the complaint to our office , you reiterate that you and your family members experienced physical illness and other difficulties during the time you represented the clients.”
The Letter of Informal Admonition further alleges:
Disciplinary counsel decided in issuing a letter of Informal Admonition rather than institute disciplinary charges taking in consideration of the COVID lockdown and took account of the attorney’s reasons which are: ”(1) have no record of prior discipline; (2) voluntarily agreed to reimburse to clients all attorney ’s fees and costs ($16,484.00), which he did; ( 3 ) cooperated fully with the investigation; (4) expressed remorse for his misconduct; (5) had family and health issues at the time, including his own personal illness ; and (6) accepted responsibility for his misconduct including acceptance of this Informal Admonition.
As of today, Mr. Hooper is listed on the law firm, The Hooper Firm LLC as a practicing attorney. He attended Harvard Law School and graduated in 2003. Hooper practices in Atlanta, Georgia. He has been licensed in the District of Columbia, license #975724. His info can be found online here.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
