Sanction Disagreement To Be Aired Before Ohio Supreme Court

A disciplinary case scheduled for oral argument today before the Ohio Supreme Court is summarized by Kathleen Maloney

The Board of Professional Conduct recommends a two-year suspension with 18 months stayed, on certain conditions, for Canfield attorney Benjamin Joltin. The board found the attorney misappropriated client funds, mismanaged his client trust account, and failed to fully cooperate with the disciplinary investigation.

Joltin and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigated the complaints against the attorney, agree about the professional conduct violations and basic facts related to the misconduct, but disagree about the appropriate sanction.

Attorney Pays Himself Before Doing Work
Joltin has been a solo practitioner since 2012 and handles criminal and family law cases. In September 2012, Lisa Torok hired Joltin to handle her divorce and paid him $18,000 to hold in trust. He deposited the money into his client trust account. Six days later, Joltin paid himself $4,000 from the account without having earned the fee or noted any expenses.

Torok and Joltin agreed to a $3,000 flat fee for the divorce, and Torok requested the return of $15,000 in early 2013. When Torok cashed the check months later, it bounced. Soon after, Joltin paid back more, but not all, of her money, and she fired him as her lawyer in February 2014. By April, Torok had refunded her all but $3,000, which he eventually paid nine days before a December 2015 disciplinary hearing.

In November 2012, Joltin also deposited $88,000 for work he did as executor of his grandparents’ estate into his client trust account, which the board notes improperly mixed his personal funds with his client account.

Personal Injury and Eviction Cases Mismanaged
In a second incident, Joltin represented Roger Johnson in a personal injury lawsuit. One of Johnson’s doctors contacted Joltin in 2009, requesting payment of a medical bill if the case was won or settled. Joltin agreed to pay the doctor, but then put the documents into the wrong file and forgot about them. A settlement was reached, but the doctor wasn’t paid his $3,400 fee until more than two years later, a few days before the December 2015 disciplinary hearing.

In the third grievance considered by the board, Joltin represented a landlord who lives in Florida and needed legal assistance to evict tenants from an Ohio property. The court rejected two filings Joltin made because of technical errors. When the landlord contacted Joltin by phone and email about the case status, Joltin didn’t talk to him, ignored his emails, and failed to keep him informed about the case. This client terminated Joltin’s representation in May 2014 and asked for a refund of the $205 paid. Joltin didn’t reply until he decided to refund the fee in December 2015.

Board Suggests Six-Month Actual Suspension
In its report to the Supreme Court, the board states that Joltin stopped keeping records for his client trust account from 2008 to 2013, the year the disciplinary counsel began an investigation. Joltin failed to maintain required ledgers for each client, overdrew his account, mixed his client and personal funds, and wrote checks for personal expenses at least 85 times in a 14-month period.

Joltin also didn’t respond to multiple inquiries from the disciplinary counsel and didn’t show up for scheduled depositions about these matters, the board notes. Once the disciplinary complaint was filed, though, Joltin cooperated with disciplinary counsel, tightened the scope of his practice, changed his office procedures to comply with attorney conduct rules regarding client trust accounts, found a mentor, and refunded money and apologized in writing to the three clients.

Joltin explained in the hearing that the misconduct took place during a time when he was experiencing personal difficulties, including physical and mental health issues. In December 2015, he began regular counseling and signed a contract with the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program (OLAP). However, the board determined these weren’t factors that could lessen his disciplinary sanction because there wasn’t enough proof to show the difficulties caused his ethical violations.

Though the disciplinary counsel recommends an indefinite suspension, the board proposes a six-month actual suspension. Eighteen months of the two-year suspension would be stayed on the conditions that Joltin submits to monitored probation, completes coursework about maintaining client trust accounts, finishes his three-year OLAP contract and follows their direction regarding his treatment, and commits no more misconduct.

Investigator Pushes for Stronger Sanction
The disciplinary counsel has filed objections to the board’s recommended sanction. The disciplinary counsel disputes the board’s conclusion that none of the clients were harmed by Joltin’s actions. The divorcing mother needed her money for living and child-related expenses, the doctor waited two years to be paid for services he provided, and the landlord’s tenants extensively damaged the property during the delay in the eviction proceedings, the disciplinary counsel contends.

The disciplinary counsel adds that Joltin’s lack of cooperation with the disciplinary process was egregious and only changed after the complaint against him was formally filed. In the disciplinary counsel’s view, Joltin has shown he is unfit to practice law, and his conduct justifies an indefinite suspension, which prohibits him from applying for reinstatement for two years.

Attorney Satisfied with Board’s Recommendation
Joltin responds, rejecting the claim that he harmed these clients. He notes he successfully negotiated a separation agreement and shared parenting plan for Torok, and he argues no evidence was submitted to support the harm to the clients that has been alleged by the disciplinary counsel.

The attorney cites his good character and reputation throughout his 16 years of practice as demonstrated by 17 letters submitted on his behalf in this case. He stresses that he freely chose to repay his clients, seek counseling, and fix his law-office practices in December 2015 before the disciplinary hearing. Those steps were sincere attempts to correct the wrongs and prevent future misconduct, he asserts, asking the Supreme Court to accept the proposed two-year suspension with 18 months stayed.

Kathleen Maloney

The argument can be viewed by live stream and later in the court’s online archives. (Mike Frisch)