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Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, who abruptly announced her resignation Tuesday after admitting she moonlighted as a well-paid contractor for the owners of an embattled cannabis dispensary chain, has sought since February to be reinstated to the Oregon State Bar.
Now that she’s leaving elected office, it’s possible Fagan will attempt to return to her former trade as a lawyer. After all, she began her reinstatement process two months ago in hopes she could perform legal work for Rosa Cazares and Aaron Mitchell, the principals of the cannabis company where she was moonlighting.
Bar records show Fagan submitted her reinstatement application Feb. 27. Fagan’s application was submitted to the lead investigator for vetting May 1. (Fagan became an inactive member of the bar when she was elected secretary of state in 2020.)
In response to a question on the application about her employment or occupations since last being an active member the bar, Fagan listed her positions as secretary of state and adjunct professor at the Willamette University College of Law. Fagan did not list her new contract with Veriede Holding LLC, which she had signed just three days prior to submitting her application for reinstatement.
Fagan tells WW she didn’t list the contract because she wasn’t an employee of Veriede but a contractor.
“I have never been an employee of Veriede,” Fagan tells WW. “I had a contract with the company, which is independent contractor status.”
Fagan says she did not apply for bar licensure in any other states.
At least one person has already submitted a complaint about Fagan to the Oregon State Bar to block her reinstatement. The agency takes into consideration any third-party complaints filed about an applicant.
“Ms. Fagan has been revealed to have engaged in a series of conduct—none of which has been adjudicated—but if some of the reports by [Willamette Week] newspaper are true implicate both ethical and legal violations that should certainly bear upon her readmission to the Bar,” Josh Marquis, an active bar member and former district attorney for Clatsop County, wrote to the agency May 1.
Agency notes show Fagan called the agency April 28, the day after she admitted her cannabis consulting work, and “provided information on recent articles re: ethics concerns.”
To be readmitted to the bar, applicants must fill out paperwork demonstrating they possess “the good moral character and general fitness to practice law, and that…the resumption of the practice of law in Oregon will not be detrimental to the administration of justice or the public interest,” agency rules read.
The bar reviews the application, writes a report, and hands it off to its chief executive officer, says bar spokeswoman Kateri Walsh. The CEO then decides whether to reinstate the applicant or refer it to the bar’s board of governors for a decision. It’s then forwarded, with a recommendation by the bar to reinstate or deny, to the Oregon Supreme Court, which ultimately decides the outcome of the application. (If the CEO or Board recommends denial, the applicant can seek a hearing.)
During a Monday press conference addressing the scandal—prior to her resignation the next day—Fagan said she was seeking to reactivate her license to practice as a lawyer in the state of Oregon in hopes that she could then provide legal services to Cazares and Mitchell.
“As an inactive member I cannot and have not performed any legal work. I am in the process of becoming an active bar member again, I am literally waiting on paperwork,” Fagan said Monday morning. “And if the contract had continued, once I was a member of the bar, my consulting likely would have included legal analysis.”
Fagan terminated the Veriede contract on Sunday, two days before her resignation and more than a month after WW first reached out to her with its findings about La Mota and the many financial and legal issues Cazares and Mitchell face, including more than $7 million in state and federal tax liens.