To: Oregon State Bar-Disciplinary Scott Morrill

5200 SW Meadows

PO Box 1689

Lake Oswego OR 97035

Re: Merrill Schneider, Nicole Schneider

Counselor:

Our need for the file has become crucial. We have received a letter from the Chief Judge of the Office of Disability Adjudications and Review in Portland Oregon and the Court states that a new hearing is imminent! We still do not have the medical records nor the procedural background of what has occurred in the past for this claimant. I am at a loss to protect the rights of this Oregon citizen.

Claimant is left to search her faulty memory as to who treated her and when even though her medical records are in the hands of the Schneiders and they refuse to surrender claimant’s property. After the Hearing Office adjudicator made reversible errors, the Schneider’s boldly state that claimant should travel to that office, expect that office to locate the file with its errors and possible omissions and rely upon it-even though claimant’s file is sitting on a shelf in the Schneider’s Office.

As you recall, claimant was represented at the hearing level by a legal aid type attorney at the hearing level. The judge committed several errors (apparently as I am left to guess as the Schneider’s refuse to give up the client’s file to her). The judge was ultimately overturned by the US District Judge.

We have gone to US District Court to try to glean some facts in the case of Robin **. We do see that the Schneiders were paid $5,700 for their work at federal court and it was paid by the Social Security Administration to them. Claimant received nothing-zero. There apparently was a fee agreement and the Schneiders then had claimant sign a new agreement regarding fees but did not advise claimant to seek the advise of an independent attorney as per your Oregon Bar Rules of Professional Conduct.

Even though we traveled to US District Court to copy claimant’s file, there is no legal brief in the file and we are left with no information as to what errors the hearing judge made.

I therefore do not concur that there should be any further delay as the Schneiders demand to drag out this investigation as claimant continues to be harmed by these Schneider delays. The Chief judge has told us that a new hearing is imminent. We have NO MEDICAL RECORDS OF CLAIMANT and no evidence of the errors made by the Hearing Judge as they are being wrongfully withheld by the Schneiders apparently to “pay back“ the claimant for firing the Schneiders. Again, we do not know what errors the first hearing judge made because the Schneiders refuse to give claimant her property including the legal briefs that she paid for and are blocked in our efforts to pursue this Oregon citizens rights and remedies.

This clearly is unconscionable. If the Oregon State Bar is incapable of protecting Oregon citizens from unethical lawyers such as these then I shall petition the Oregon Assembly and Oregon Senate that the authority to police Oregon lawyers be taken away from the Oregon State Bar and given to an independent agency such as Consumer Affairs or the Oregon Attorney General.

I think if enough outraged citizens meet with their representatives in Salem that important changes will be made and this authority will reside with people who actually care about protecting the Oregon citizen rather than protecting the Oregon lawyer.