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STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN SUPREME COURT
C0-00-1850
In Re Petition for Disciplinary Action against
Christopher James Bianco, an Attorney at Law
of the State of Minnesota.
O R D E R
The Director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility has filed a petition for disciplinary
action alleging that respondent Christopher James Bianco has committed professional misconduct
warranting public discipline, namely, he consumed alcohol in violation of his criminal probation and
a pretrial release order, represented a client after suspension of his license for nonpayment of
attorney registration fees, and failed to cooperate with the Director's investigation in violation of
Minn. R. Prof. Conduct 3.4(c), 5.5(a) and 8.1(a)(3), Rule 25, Rules on Lawyers Professional
Responsibility (RLPR), and the Court's holding in In re Cartwright, 282 N.W.2d 548 (Minn.
1979).
Respondent admits his conduct violated the Rules of Professional Conduct, waives his rights
pursuant to Rule 14, RLPR, and has entered into a stipulation with the Director wherein they jointly
recommend that the appropriate discipline is a 60-day suspension followed by two years of
supervised probation subject to the following conditions:
(a) Respondent may not be reinstated by payment of his attorney registration fee
until he has completed the 60-day suspension and fully satisfied the requirements
herein.
(b) Respondent shall comply with Rule 26, RLPR.
(c) Respondent may be reinstated following the expiration of the suspension
provided that respondent files an affidavit with the Clerk of Appellate Courts and
the Director's Office, in accordance with Rule 18(b), RLPR, establishing that
respondent is current with Continuing Legal Education and has fully complied with
Rules 24 and 26, RLPR. Respondent may file said affidavit 15 days before the
expiration of the suspension period in order to be reinstated at the end of the
60-day suspension.
(d) Respondent's probation shall be subject to the following conditions:
(i) Respondent shall be supervised by a licensed Minnesota attorney, appointed by
the Director to monitor compliance with the terms of this probation. Respondent
shall provide the Director with the names of four attorneys who have agreed to be
nominated as respondent's supervisor within two weeks of reinstatement. If, after
diligent effort, respondent is unable to locate a supervisor acceptable to the
Director, the Director will seek to appoint a supervisor. Until a supervisor has
signed a consent to supervise, the respondent shall on the first day of each month
provide the Director with an inventory of active client files described in paragraph
(ii) below. Respondent shall make active client files available to the Director upon
request.
(ii) Respondent shall cooperate fully with the supervisor in his/her efforts to monitor
compliance with this probation. Respondent shall contact the supervisor and
schedule a minimum of one in-person meeting per calendar quarter. Respondent
shall submit to the supervisor an inventory of all active client files by the first day of
each month during the probation. With respect to each active file, the inventory
shall disclose the client name, type of representation, date opened, most recent
activity, next anticipated action, and anticipated closing date. Respondent's
supervisor shall file written reports with the Director at least quarterly, or at such
more frequent intervals as may reasonably be requested by the Director.
(iii) Respondent shall initiate and maintain office procedures that insure that there
are prompt responses to correspondence, telephone calls, and other important
communications from clients, courts, and other persons interested in matters that
respondent is handling, and which will insure that respondent regularly reviews each
and every file and completes legal matters on a timely basis.
(iv) Within 30 days from reinstatement, respondent shall provide to the Director
and to the probation supervisor, if any, a written plan outlining office procedures
designed to insure that respondent is in compliance with probation requirements.
Respondent shall provide progress reports as requested.
(v) Prior to reinstatement, and if respondent has not already done so, respondent
agrees to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation by a treatment center
acceptable to the Director and to follow all recommendations of the evaluating
treatment center.
(vi) Respondent shall maintain total abstinence from alcohol and other
mood-altering chemicals, except that respondent may use prescription drugs in
accordance with the directions of a prescribing physician who is fully advised of
respondent's chemical dependency before issuing the prescription.
(vii) Respondent shall attend weekly meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous or another
out-patient alcohol treatment program acceptable to the Director. Respondent
shall, by the tenth day of each month, without a specific reminder or request, submit
to the Director an attendance verification on a form provided by the Director,
which provides the name, address, and telephone number of the person personally
verifying the attendance. Such attendance verification shall also, upon request, be
provided to the respondent's supervisor, if any.
(viii) Respondent shall, at his own expense, no more than four times per month,
submit to random urinalysis for drug screening at a facility approved by the Director
and shall direct the drug screening facility to provide the results of all urinalysis
testing to the Director's Office. If, after six months, all such tests have been
negative, the frequency of the random tests may be reduced. Respondent shall
cooperate with the phone-in program established by the Director for the random
tests. Any failure to phone-in in accordance with the random test program shall be
considered the same as receipt of a positive test result. Any positive test result will
be grounds for revoking this probation.
(ix) Respondent shall be required to successfully complete the professional
responsibility portion of the state bar examination within one year of the date of
reinstatement.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that respondent Christopher James Bianco is suspended from the
practice of law for 60 days, and upon reinstatement is placed on two years' supervised probation
subject to the agreed-upon conditions set forth above. Respondent shall pay $900 in costs and
disbursements pursuant to Rule 24, RLPR.
Dated: March 23, 2001
BY THE COURT:
/s/Alan C. Page
Associate Justice
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