Concurrent Time

The Kentucky Supreme Court has imposed reciprocal discipline based on a one-year suspension ordered in Ohio.

The Ohio court had found that the attorney had misused confidential information

Ward’s father, Richard H. Ward (Dick Ward), was a close friend, confidant, and attorney for John F. “Bud” Koons (Bud Koons), principal owner of a successful bottling company associated with Pepsi, Central Investment Corporation (the Corporation). Dick, who formed the law firm Drew & Ward, served on the board of directors of the Corporation, formed 25 trusts for Koons and his family, and served as trustee for at least 11 of those trusts…

…the Supreme Court of Ohio found that [attorney]Ward, through his father and Drew Ward, had access to confidential documents related to not only Trust B but to many of Bud Koons’s personal and business interests. Through those documents, Ward obtained confidential information which he was able to use in the lawsuit he filed against Bud Koons’s estate. 

Under the circumstances, the court here ordered concurrent suspensions

…we note that Ward will have served 203 days of his Ohio suspension by the time this opinion is rendered on August 20, 2015, leaving 162 days to serve. If we were to run our one-year suspension from August 20, 2015 to August 20, 2016, Ward would serve a total suspension of 568 days, a suspension we believe would be unduly harsh. We recognize that Ward has had the opportunity to continue practicing law in Kentucky while suspended in Ohio. Nevertheless, his practice has no doubt suffered because of that suspension and will continue to suffer when this suspension goes into effect. Furthermore, we note that Ward voluntarily re-paid the Cundalls and has no history of prior disciplinary actions. In light of the preceding, Ward is suspended from the practice of law for a period of one-year, to run concurrently with the Ohio suspension for an effective suspension of 162 days.

Our more detailed coverage of the Ohio findings is linked here. (Mike Frisch)