A Fee Not Agreed Or Earned

The Ohio Supreme Court publicly reprimanded an attorney

Sometime in 2000, a friend contacted Bauer to ask him whether he knew any attorneys who handled medical-malpractice cases. According to Bauer, after this discussion, he met with his friend’s sister, who was concerned that her daughter, who was less than a year old, had brain damage caused by medical negligence during her birth. Bauer recommended that the mother meet with another attorney, who eventually entered into a written contingent-fee agreement with the parents and, in 2010, obtained a substantial jury verdict in their favor.

Although Bauer had not entered into a written fee agreement with the child’s parents, he filed suit against the attorney who represented them in the malpractice action, claiming that he was entitled to share in the attorney fees earned in their case. The court dismissed the case, and the matter was ultimately arbitrated by the Ohio State Bar Association, which ruled against Bauer.

The court adopted the recommended sanction

Because we have recognized that a public reprimand is often the appropriate sanction when violations of Prof.Cond.R. 1.5 are accompanied by significant mitigating evidence and the corresponding absence of significant aggravating factors, see Adusei at ¶ 18-21, the board recommends that we publicly reprimand Bauer for his misconduct.

The parties had agreed to a one-year stayed suspension. (Mike Frisch)