Getting Licensed: Candor And Cooperation Required

The Ohio Supreme Court agreed with its Committee on Character and Fitness and denied admission

When the board reviewed Vanderhide’s application and the report of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (“NCBE”), it discovered that he had failed to disclose certain facts about his background, including a failed class in his final semester at Boston University and a period of probation for an in-dorm alcohol violation at Boston University. When asked about these omissions, Vanderhide stated that his lack of disclosure was an oversight.

 Of greater concern were two employment situations that Vanderhide failed to fully disclose. The first involved Vanderhide’s work as a law clerk for Christian G. Montroy from June to October 2010. While Montroy did not technically terminate his employment, a dispute arose when Vanderhide failed to timely submit a memo that was assigned to him. Nine days after the memo was due, Montroy requested it and inquired whether Vanderhide had merely failed to timely submit the memo or whether he failed to timely complete the work. Copies of the e-mail exchange Montroy submitted to the NCBE show that Vanderhide claimed to have timely prepared but forgotten to send a timely e-mail with the completed memo. In a separate e-mail, Vanderhide claimed that a computer problem prevented him from providing metadata and other documentation that Montroy requested to evaluate the veracity of his explanation. The panel of the
Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness assigned to hear the case noted that those e-mails also call into question the veracity of Vanderhide’s claim that he was unaware of any dispute regarding his work. Although Vanderhide obtained a law clerk position at another firm in June 2014, the board noted that that employment appeared to have been terminated in September 2014 for deficient work product and untimely completion of projects.

The applicant did not help the cause by failing to appear for the panel hearing and the court concluded

We therefore accept the board’s recommendation to disapprove Vanderhide’s application. Vanderhide may reapply for admission to the practice of law in Ohio by (1) filing an Application to Register as a Candidate for Admission to the Practice of Law and an Application to Take the Bar Examination, and (2) upon reapplication, undergoing a complete character-and-fitness investigation, including an investigation and report by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, in order to determine whether he possesses the requisite character, fitness, and moral qualifications for admission to the practice of law in Ohio.

Candor and cooperation are the only way to get admitted to practice. (Mike Frisch)