Former public defender disciplined in scheme to take a house

The Montana Supreme Court approved discipline against a Missoula lawyer who worked for the Office of Public Defender and tried to take possession of a house without permission of its owner.

The order suspends Scotti Ramberg from the practice of law for five months for dishonest and unethical conduct.

Ramberg worked on staff for the Office of the Public Defender until March 2024 and then worked on contract for the office, after the allegations of wrong-doing had become public.

The public defender’s office did not respond to a request Thursday for her current status, but the order, issued last week, said Ramberg had not been practicing law much of this year.

The order said the state’s Commission on Practice, which recommends discipline for lawyers, expressed concern Ramberg’s conduct “involved a protracted course of self-dealing, conflicts of interest, misrepresentations,” and false statements under oath.

It also said the commission found it “significant that Ramberg has expressed remorse for her conduct.”

The order said Ramberg admitted to violating the Montana Rules of Professional Conduct, and the Commission on Practice recommended the court impose discipline. A separate settlement with the property owner was reached earlier.

Ramberg agreed to the disciplinary sanctions, the order said.

The order stems from complaints the Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed against Ramberg in 2025 based on other legal actions against her.

Those include a misdemeanor theft charge in 2024 and a separate 2023 lawsuit alleging she tried to illegally take a property owner’s house in a complex scheme.

In the 2023 lawsuit, a property owner who lived out of state alleged Ramberg set up a couple of shell companies to illegally record construction liens against his home.

The case was dismissed following a settlement, but a court order found Ramberg, by being unresponsive to the lawsuit, admitted she took possession of the property, changed the locks, and took items from the premises without permission.

At one point, Ramberg claimed she had a contract for the property owner to sell her the house, but the terms were highly advantageous to her, and the evidence didn’t support that claim, according to the complaint by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

The order of discipline outlines the related professional conduct violations:

• It said Ramberg admitted she broke rules of professional conduct when she communicated with the property owner who filed the lawsuit against her, the order said. It said she knew the property owner was represented by counsel, and the rules prohibit direct communication without consent from the lawyer or a court order.
• The order said Ramberg admitted her interactions with the property owner violated rules that prohibit “dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.”
• The order also cited the theft of a cellphone, a separate incident. It said Ramberg admitted she committed a criminal act that “reflects adversely” on a lawyer’s honesty and trustworthiness when she “threw her ex-husband’s phone in a courtroom wastepaper basket,” seeing he had left it behind after a hearing, an act resulting in the theft conviction.

Ramberg did not respond to a request for comment left Wednesday.

Lawyer Colin Stephens, who represented Ramberg in the disciplinary case, did not respond to an email Wednesday requesting comment and asking whether Ramberg intended to continue practicing law after the suspension.

The order said Ramberg had not been practicing law for six months prior to the August findings by the Commission on Practice, so the sanctions mean she will not have practiced for nearly a year before she is eligible to seek reinstatement.

The order requires her to obtain a mentor for two years, take a professional responsibility exam and score at least 80%.

It requires her to pay the costs associated with the case and comply with the rules of professional conduct.

The suspension takes effect 30 days after the Oct. 13 order.