“Drive Safely”

From the web page of the Ohio Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court of Ohio today suspended the license of [a] Cincinnati attorney…for two years, with the second year ofthat term stayed on conditions, for neglecting the cases of threedifferent clients, failing to respond to repeated inquiries from thoseclients about the status of their cases or to refund their unearnedfees upon request, and failing to cooperate with disciplinaryauthorities during the investigation of his misconduct.

TheCourt voted 6-1 to adopt findings by the Board of Commissioners onGrievances & Discipline findings that [the attorney] accepted fee advancesfrom three clients but subsequently failed to perform promised legalservices, file documents  or appear at scheduled court proceedings,causing harm or prejudice to those clients including the issuance ofwarrants for the arrest of two clients.

The Court agreed withthe disciplinary board’s findings that [his] conduct violated, amongothers, the state attorney discipline rules that prohibit failure tocarry out a contract for professional employment; causing harm ordamage to a client in the course of a professional relationship;failure to promptly pay or return funds that a client is entitled toreceive; and engaging in conduct involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty ormisrepresentation. The Court also found that [he] violated the statebar governance rule that requires attorneys to cooperate with alldisciplinary investigations.

The Court’s per curiam opinionwas joined by Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton,Maureen O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell, Judith Ann Lanzinger and RobertR. Cupp. Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer dissented, stating that becauseLarson engaged in a pattern of serious misconduct that exposed hisclients to possible arrest, loss of driving privileges and fines, hewould impose a two-year license suspension with no time stayed.

One matter involved a client who retained the attorney to assist her with a traffic citation. The attorney failed to address the matter and the client had her license suspended. The attorney’s advice: “Drive safely.”

The opinion is linked here. (Mike Frisch)