Attorney for City Police Union Barred From Practicing Law

The attorney who handles labor relations for the union representing the San Diego Police Department has been barred from practicing law after the State Bar alleged that he did not properly represent a former member of the San Diego County Employees Assn.

Christopher Ashcraft was placed on “involuntary inactive enrollment” three weeks ago for failing to respond to the State Bar’s allegations that he represented Alan K. Ferree beginning in 1983 but “failed to complete the performance of the services for which (he) was employed.”

Ferree was a union representative for the San Diego County Employees Assn. who was suing the union over a job dispute, Ashcraft said.

In April, 1988, the State Bar said, Ashcraft failed to respond to a request for discovery in Ferree’s case against the San Diego County Employees Assn., the union representing county workers, and was reprimanded by the Superior Court.

In November of that year, the case was dropped because Ashcraft had not pursued it. The State Bar said Ashcraft “failed to take reasonable steps to avoid foreseeable prejudice” to Ferree.

A spokeswoman for the State Bar said Monday that Ashcraft was given 20 days beginning last Feb. 1 to answer the charges, but failed to do so.

In an interview Monday, Ashcraft said he represented Ferree up until mid-1988 and turned the case over to another attorney, whom he did not name. He said he was responsible for responding late to the request for discovery in the case and did not pursue it thereafter because it had been forwarded to the other attorney.

Ashcraft, an attorney who has represented the Police Officer’s Assn. in labor negotiations since 1979, said he met with an investigator from the State Bar and was told he would be getting a minor reprimand for not responding to the discovery in the case.

He said he had gotten no notice from the State Bar in February that he had to respond within 20 days, nor did he know about having his license suspended until he was contacted Monday by The Times.

Susan Scott, a State Bar spokeswoman, said Ashcraft must petition the Bar’s court to get his license back and “prove he had a good reason not to respond to our inquiries. The court does not grant (a reprieve) lightly.”