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He was sentenced to 18 months in 2019 and the state of Washington disbarred him, but the Oregon Supreme Court has taken a different path. Per the ABA Journal:
Graeff has been disbarred in Washington, but the Oregon Supreme Court instead opted for its toughest suspension. The court cited several mitigating factors supporting suspension, rather than disbarment. They included Graeff’s personal circumstances, his otherwise clear disciplinary record, his punishment for the crime, and his payment to the insurance company for the damage caused to the law office.
Lawyer gets 5-year suspension for firing gun into colleague s law office
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A lawyer who practices in Portland, Oregon, has received a five-year suspension for firing six bullets into the law office of a colleague, narrowly missing the law firm manager who was in the building.
The Oregon Supreme Court suspended lawyer Erik Graeff of Vancouver, Washington, in an April 22 opinion, report the Oregonian, Law360 and the Legal Profession Blog.
Graeff has been disbarred in Washington, but the Oregon Supreme Court instead opted for its toughest suspension. The court cited several mitigating factors supporting suspension, rather than disbarment. They included Graeff’s personal circumstances, his otherwise clear disciplinary record, his punishment for the crime, and his payment to the insurance company for the damage caused to the law office.
Portland-based attorney who shot at Beaverton colleague’s office receives 5-year law suspension
Updated 1:15 PM;
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The Oregon Supreme Court has imposed a five-year suspension the maximum penalty possible, short of disbarment on a Portland-based lawyer who fired six bullets at a Beaverton law office in 2017, narrowly missing the head of an employee.
The Oregon State Bar charged Erik Graeff, a Vancouver resident, with violating a rule of professional conduct, along with two charges for failing to communicate with his clients.
A disciplinary board trial panel recommended suspending Graeff for three years for the shooting incident, but it determined that the Oregon State Bar, which sought to disbar him, had failed to meet its burden to prove the other two charges. Graeff, who represented himself in the trial, sought a one-year suspension.
Lawyer suspended in Beaverton office shooting April 22 2021
Oregon Supreme Court chooses not to disbar Erik Graeff, but also imposes maximum penalty short of it.
A Vancouver, Washington, lawyer who fired shots into a Beaverton law office has been suspended for five years, the maximum that the Oregon Supreme Court can impose short of disbarment.
The court announced its decision in an unsigned opinion, as is the usual practice, released on Thursday, April 22. Justice Thomas Balmer did not take part.
The penalty against Erik Graeff, who was admitted to the Oregon State Bar in 2010, resulted from three incidents a few years ago, one of them criminal.