Mr. David Klauser
09 Sep 2018
Page 1
Gardener, Carol, Zinsser, & Lewis, LLP
One Attorney Plaza
Syracuse, NY 13204
(315)-555-5550
September 9, 2018
VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL
RE: Evaluation of Appeal Outcome for Bar Membership, David Klauser 718-1
Dear Mr. David Klauser,
You have retained our firm to represent you to determine whether there is a likely chance
that, despite your prior conviction, you will obtain admittance into the New York State Bar. For
the reasons that follow, we believe that you will most likely receive acceptance into the New York
State Bar.
From the information you have provided, we understand that at the age of eighteen, you
were convicted of felony murder. Prior to this conviction, your upbringing led to active
participation in street violence from the tender age of five years old. When you reached nine, you
joined a street gang and served as a lookout in your neighborhood. These encounters made you a
notorious watch for the police. It was continuation of this participation that led to your arrest,
several times, and then six months in juvenile detention. Juvenile detention fueled your
engagement in street activity. Upon release from juvenile detention, your commitment to the
streets​ ​climaxed when at the age of seventeen your street gang became involved in drug
distribution and a neighborhood protection racket. You presumed your position as a lookout to
one incident in which your gang wanted to stop a hardware owner Mr. Ende. Mr. Ende, refused
to pay your gang a “fee” for the neighborhood protection racket. You hoped that this encounter
would only result in the fee being paid to your gang. At the confrontation, Mr. Ende was trying
to defend himself against the gang. He was winning, after standing his ground against two
members of your gang. The altercation got violent, and Mr. Ende was stabbed and killed. The
police were called and you were arrested. At trial, despite the recommendation of your lawyer,
you plead guilty. At eighteen years old, the judge sentenced you to thirty years in prison.
We further understand that your tenure in prison catalyzed your rehabilitation towards a
better life. After just one year, you signed up for high school classes. You continued up this path
and earned Bachelor's degrees in English and Social Work and a Masters in Social Work. Your
acts of rehabilitation continued with your job position in the prison library. With great success,
it afforded you a highly respected position in the Warden’s Office. The work that you conducted
Mr. David Klauser
09 Sep 2018
Page 2
in the Warden's Office focused on helping to coordinate releases with outside organizations, and
ultimately your own release after only twenty years of your sentence. After your release, you
attend that FIR TREE program geared towards helping former inmates re-enter into society.
The experience and education you received in prison lead way to your stability and current job
position at FIR TREE. This is where you have worked for the past fifteen years upon release
from prison.
Finally, from your information, we understand that in fifteen years, you have not had any
more negative encounters with the law. Instead, have engaged in numerous activities that attest
for your change of lifestyle and character. First, you mentioned that you have been married for
the past ten years, and are currently still in a happy relationship. In addition, you have learned
the importance of taking responsibility for your past actions through atonement, setting aside a
percentage of your salary every month towards Mr. Ende’s children and grandchildren. Also,
after your release you contacted Officer Foster, who was the officer who arrested you leading to
your conviction, and have since apologized for your actions and formed a friendship over time.
Through this friendship, Officer Foster has followed your progress and is willing to write you a
letter in support for your acceptance into the New York State Bar. Over and above, you have
completed your Law degree at Bard Law School, graduated Magna Cum Laude and have already
taken the bar examination. Your desire to be admitted into the bar stems from your current
employment with FIR TREE. In this organization you were appointed to oversee a branch in the
Syracuse area. The operations you carry out at FIR TREE do not require you to pass the bar.
Rather, admittance into the bar will allow you to continue your work in a more profound way.
Achieving acceptance into the New York Bar will enable you to serve as a role model to others in
prison who deeply struggle to believe their lives after prison can ever amount to anything past
their convictions.
If any portions of these facts are inaccurate or incomplete, please let us know, as they are crucial
to the proper evaluation of your case.
The history of your life and desire to be admitted into the New York Bar echos the
Weisner case that serves as precedent for the New York Courts assessment of character and
fitness. The conclusion of Wisener’s case sheds light to the requirements sought out by New
York State Law and the American Bar Association when looking to admit members with prior
convictions. Mr. Wiesner was a twice convicted felon, sentenced to twelve and a half years to
twenty five years in prison. Upon release, Mr. Wiesner obtained a college degree, and passed the
bar in 1994. After passing the bar, he was barred in two states but refused admittance into the
New York Bar. It was not until ten applications later, and a continuous reassessment of
Wisener’s ‘full rehabilitation’, that he was accepted into the New York Bar. In congruence with
your past, Mr. Wiesner, through his efforts after jail had to demonstrate that he had “sufficiently
rehabilitated to satisfy the character and fitness requirements set requisite by the Judiciary law
§ 90. In assessing Weisner’s character fitness for the bar, the Committee afforded much
significance to many factors. The main criteria in assessment of Weisner’s character and fitness
Mr. David Klauser
09 Sep 2018
Page 3
was, the age Wiesner was at the time he committed the crime, the passage of time, the severity of
the crime, remorse for the crime, and his ability to integrate into society proving personal
development in order to establish “complete rehabilitation”.
Under Mckinney's Judiciary Law § 90, The state of New York requires all applicants to
possess the character and general fitness requisite in order to pass the bar. Although the
Judiciary Law § 90 does not provide any set requirements used to evaluate or accept applicants
with a criminal record, the outcome of the Weisner case sets standards to predict the outcome of
your admittance into the bar. The standards set by the American Bar Association’s Committee
on character and fitness are likely what the Court of Appeals will use in determining your
character and fitness.
A number of considerations contribute to the Committee’s determination of individuals
with criminal records changes of acceptance. The American Bar Association asserts that age is a
significant factor in this determination. In Weisner’s case, the Committee expressed the
importance in recognizing that “the petitioner [Weisner] was in his 20’s when he committed the
crimes, which though very serious, are not recent, having occurred some decades
ago...”(Weisner) The courts assessed that a significant amount of time had passed between
petitioner’s age at the crime and his age when he was applying for the bar. Thirty years had
passed since the petitioner’s last crime and therefore the courts deemed the petitioners
youthfulness at the time of the crime a critical a measure of determining the petitioner’s current
character and fitness. Similarly, your criminal conviction occurred when you were at the tender
age of eighteen years and you have had a significant amount of life experience from the time the
crime was committed until now. In both cases, over thirty years had passed since the
convictions. Therefore, the Committee is likely to conclude enough time has elapsed since your
first conviction.
Another determiner is the severity of the crime committed. The Committee uses the
seriousness of the crime as a demarcation in assessing how much rehabilitation is necessary to
evaluate “the prospective risk that the applicant will abuse the trust and the responsibilities
bestowed on him.” (Jud. 90) This is considered because petitioners with criminal backgrounds
have burden to prove that they carry no behavioral traits that will constitute as a threat to
individuals clients and society. Wisener was a twice convicted felon. The nature of his crimes
were extremely serious. Accordingly, “the Committee accorded much significance to his ability,
over an extended period of time to pursue a productive and positive life career.” (Wiesner) After
Weisner was released from Prison, he obtained a college degree, and passed the bar exam. He
spent the next thirty years of his life drug free, practicing law in the states that admitted him
with an “unblemished record.”(Saxe) In accordance with your case, we understand that you are
a one time convicted felon, and have also given significant efforts to pursue both a positive and
productive career. This was accomplished through your duties with the FIR TREE foundation,
and achievement of four degrees including your juris doctor. An applicant, like yourself, who
Mr. David Klauser
09 Sep 2018
Page 4
demonstrates these positive life trends such as obtaining higher education shows proof of
rehabilitative efforts.
Remorse for past actions is also another crucial factor the Committee takes into account
in assessing complete rehabilitation. If a candidate cannot show forth his remorse for the crime,
the Committee will deem him unfit for admittance, because atonement shows self assessment
and accountability. Weisner’s proved his remorse through his actions after his release and had
many witnesses of high positions in the community to attest for this. On stand Wiesner’s
co-worker stated “He never tried to justify his conduct… but rather accepted responsibility for
his actions.” (Weisner) Alike in your case, you have taken enormous efforts to attone from your
past in allocating a percentage of your paycheck to offer as support to Mr. Ende’s family. Also,
you have the support of credible individuals in society who are willing to attest to your change in
character and integration into society. Therefore the Committee is likely notice the efforts you
have taken to accept and atone for your conviction.
Perhaps, the most significant factor the courts assess in evaluating full rehabilitation is
applicant’s ability to integrate into society proving personal development. This is so, because
one’s ability to reintegrate into society after having committed serious crimes shows
improvement of character. Character, “is not defined in the statute[Judiciary § 90] but is usually
portrayed in terms of the applicants fulfillment of professional responsibilities.” (Wiesner)
Wiesner was able to prove his good character through his unembellished record while serving as
a successful attorney, his pro bono work, and the work he participated in his community. Much
like Wiseners efforts, the work that you have accomplished through FIR TREE over the past
fifteen years, your ten year relationship to your wife, and the letters of support, testify of your
substantial rehabilitation.
Under New York law Judiciary 90 “such a person possess the character and general
fitness requisite as an attorney and counselor- at -law… shall admit his to practice as such..” As
demonstrated above character and fitness is exhibited through assessing whether an applicant
has rehabilitated to the extent that the traits that led to his criminal conduct have been excised
from his character, shows no possession of behavior traits that may constitute a threat, accepted
responsibility for their crimes, and made contributions to the society with substantial time
between the conviction and the application. Upon illustration of the facts you have provided in
comparison with the standard’s Wiseners case and Judiciary law 90 sets out, we believe that you
will most likely be admitted into the New York State Bar.
Mr. Gardener has scheduled a meeting with you on October 22nd at 10:30am here in our
office at One Attorney Plaza. Please be advised that any pertinent information omitted from
your case, if any, and letters of support should be brought to this meeting.
Mr. David Klauser
09 Sep 2018
Page 5
Please let me know if you have any questions. I appreciate the opportunity to work with you on
this matter.
Sincerely,
Chelsea P. Simpson
[4255169]
CC: Ms. Emily Br0wn