State Ex Rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Raskin

OPAL A, Justice:

In this proceeding against a lawyer for imposition of professional discipline the issues are: [1] Was want of a signed or formal complaint with the Oklahoma Bar Association [Bar] a fatal or vitiating flaw in the institution of disciplinary proceedings? [2] Was the recommended sanction of suspension from practice inappropriately lenient? We answer the first question in the negative and the second in the affirmative.

Henry Richard Raskin [Raskin], a licensed lawyer, was charged with two counts of misconduct, both dealing with commingling and misappropriation. The trial authority…