Professional Liability Blog

IntroductionIn Erie-Huron Cnty. Bar Assn. v. Smith, 2016 WL 911280 (Ohio Mar. 10, 2016), the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the Board of Professional Conduct’s ruling to indefinitely suspend a solo-practicing attorney’s law license. The Supreme Court held an indefinite suspension was warranted due to the attorney’s failure to file bankruptcy petitions on behalf of his clients, failure to return advanced fees, failure to deposit advanced funds into a client trust account, and failure to notify clients he lacked professional liability insurance.

Attorneys can run afoul of the rules of professional conduct in a variety of ways. One of the most common ways is by ignoring a client’s matter. The Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline recently sanctioned an attorney for just that. On review, the Ohio Supreme Court then upheld the majority of the sanctions, though it did reduce the imposed penalty.