February 22, 2013 - Oregon State Bar

OREGON STATE BAR
Board of Governors Agenda
Meeting Date: February 22, 2013
From:
Sylvia E. Stevens, Executive Director
Re:
CSF Claim JORDAN (Flores-Salazar) Request for Review
Action Recommended
Consider Mr. Flores-Salazar’s request for review of the CSF Committee’s denial of his claim
for reimbursement.
Background
Armando Flores-Salazar was convicted of multiple felonies in November 2006 following a
four-day jury trial in Clackamas County. 1 Shortly thereafter, he hired Keith Jordan to represent him
on appeal. Flores-Salazar withdrew funds from his 401(k) account to pay Jordan’s $15,000 flat fee in
advance. The fee agreement provided that the fee was earned in full on receipt and non-refundable
except in the event of a fee dispute.
Jordan filed a Notice of Appeal in December 2006 and in January 2007 filed a motion for
release pending appeal. The motion was denied. The transcript was not filed until May 2007, in part
because it took Flores-Salazar several months to gather the transcriptionist’s $2400 fee, which was
not included in Jordan’s fee.
Jordan filed the opening brief on October 25, 2007 after having obtained several extensions
from the Court of Appeals. The brief ran to 50 pages and contained six assignments of error. (The
DOJ claimed his brief exceeded the court’s page limit, since Jordan used a 12-point font instead of
the required 13-point.) According to the CSF investigator, the brief was thoroughly researched and
competently drafted.
Jordan was suspended from practice in Oregon in January 1, 2008 in connection with
unrelated matters and performed no further services for Flores-Salazar. Upon learning of Jordan’s
suspension, Flores-Salazar was represented by court-appointed counsel through the end of his
appeal. The new counsel filed a supplemental brief to address in more detail one of the
assignments of error. Flores-Salazar’s conviction was eventually affirmed without opinion.
In addition to a disciplinary complaint and his claim for reimbursement with the CSF, Flores-
Salazar also filed a civil breach of contract action against Jordan in Umatilla County Circuit Court.
That case was dismissed in April 2012 for lack of prosecution; Flores-Salazar was apparently unable
to effect service on Jordan.
The CSF concluded that Flores-Salazar’s claim was not eligible for reimbursement. CSF Rule
2.2 provides, in pertinent part:
2.2.1 In a loss resulting from a lawyer’s refusal or failure to refund an unearned legal fee,
“dishonest conduct” shall include (i) a lawyer’s misrepresentation or false promise to provide
legal services to a client in exchange for the advance payment of a legal fee….
1 He is currently incarcerated, serving out his 75-month sentence.