Attorney denies that she had sex with ex-client

By Christine Clarridge
Seattle Times staff reporter

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Theresa Olson, a former defense attorney who faces disciplinary action from the state Bar Association for allegedly having a jailhouse sexual encounter, has denied having sex with her client.

In a formal response filed last week with the disciplinary board of the Washington State Bar Association, Olson denied "knowingly and intentionally having sexual relations" with former client Sebastian Burns.

Burns, 28, and his co-defendant, Atif Rafay, 27, are being tried in King County Superior Court for aggravated first-degree murder in the slayings of Rafay's family in Bellevue nearly 10 years ago.

Olson, 45, was lead counsel for Burns when the allegations of misconduct surfaced in August 2002. Jail guards reported they had seen her having sex with Burns in an interview room at the jail.

The high-profile attorney was subsequently suspended from her job at The Defender Association.

In her formal reply to the complaint filed against her, Olson specifically denies having a sexual relationship with Burns.

She also denies that her conduct resulted in any harm to her client, the public or the profession.

Following the allegations, Olson was removed from the case, and the county filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against her and The Defender Association, seeking repayment for the costs of finding a new lawyer for Burns and subsequent delays in his trial.

That lawsuit is on hold until the Burns-Rafay murder trial is over, expected to be early April. Then county officials are to determine how much, if anything, the county actually lost by having to remove Olson.

Olson and the Bar Association had agreed last year to settle the disciplinary case by suspending Olson's law license for a year.
 
In that proposed settlement, Olson admitted having had "sexual contact" with Burns, but not sexual intercourse, her attorney said at the time.

The Washington State Supreme Court, however, rejected that proposed penalty.

Although the court did not comment on, or explain its rejection of, the penalty, observers generally presumed that it found the one-year suspension too lenient.

A review board of the state bar found there was sufficient evidence to order a public hearing on the matter to determine appropriate sanctions against Olson.

A date for the hearing has not been set.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com

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