Merrell and Francine Vannier - Page 5

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               While employed at the Taylor firm, petitioner experienced              
          “problems” relating to the fact that he was a disbarred lawyer.             
          Counsel opposing the Taylor firm would draw attention to                    
          petitioner’s disbarred status through court pleadings.  For                 
          example, opposing counsel had filed an ex parte motion to contest           
          a ruling requiring them to pay attorney’s fees to the Taylor                
          firm, asserting that they did not want to contribute to the                 
          unauthorized practice of law.  These and other manufacturers'               
          defense attorneys, working on behalf of large automotive                    
          companies, made disparaging comments against petitioner and the             
          Taylor firm in retribution for the successes they were having               
          litigating lemon law matters.                                               
               In response to the “disparaging” comments and to “remove the           
          stigma attached” to the status of being disbarred, petitioner               
          reapplied for admission to the California Bar in 1989.  He sat              
          for and passed the California bar exam for the second time.  He             
          then waited for the Committee to complete their moral character             
          review.                                                                     
               In the course of this review, the Committee elicited                   
          background information from petitioner, including his then-recent           
          activities at the Taylor firm.  The Committee also contacted                
          attorneys who had opposed the Taylor firm in its attempt to find            
          information about petitioner’s reputation and moral character.              
          As a result of this investigation, several members of the lemon             





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