An Undisclosed Relationship
The Ohio Supreme Court has imposed a stayed one-year suspension
In 2021, Byron met Helga Semaj, and they became romantically involved for a few months. Despite ending their romantic relationship, they remained friends. In March 2022, Semaj hired Byron on a contingent-fee basis to sue her ex-boyfriend. Byron and Semaj soon resumed their romantic relationship.
Beginning in July 2022, Byron also represented Semaj in two separate protection-order cases (one she filed against her ex-husband and one he filed against her), a criminal case, her divorce, and another lawsuit against her ex-husband. Semaj verbally agreed to pay Byron a $15,000 retainer to be charged at an hourly rate of $300 for his representation in the protection-order case she had filed, her divorce, and her lawsuit against her ex-husband. This agreement was never put into writing. Semaj paid the retainer in two payments in July and August, both of which Byron deposited into his personal business account. At the time he made the deposits, he had not billed the hours necessary to earn the retainer. Semaj’s ex-husband hired Joseph Stafford to represent him in both protection-order cases and the divorce, and he hired Christina Spallina to defend him in the civil suit.
When providing trial exhibits to Stafford in the protection-order case Semaj had filed against her ex-husband, Byron unintentionally revealed his relationship with Semaj. Stafford gave this evidence to Spallina, and on August 15, 2022, she sought Byron’s disqualification in the civil case. On August 16, Stafford also moved to disqualify Byron in one of the protection-order cases. At an August 17 hearing in the protection-order case, Byron misrepresented the status of his relationship with Semaj, testifying, “[T]here is no relationship other than an attorney/client relationship now.” The next day, in his written response to the motion Spallina filed to disqualify him in the civil case, Byron again mischaracterized his romantic relationship with Semaj as existing only in the past Byron later admitted to still being in a relationship with Semaj when he was deposed in the divorce case.
On September 21, Byron refunded Semaj’s retainer from his personal account, and Semaj wrote a new check for the retainer. Byron deposited the check into his IOLTA account and paid himself $10,000 without confirming that the funds were available. Semaj’s check had not cleared, so Byron paid himself from other clients’ funds. Semaj then wrote a new check that Byron deposited into his IOLTA account, and that check cleared. Byron also deposited personal funds into his IOLTA account during this time.
Sanction
although the presumptive sanction for Byron’s misconduct is an actual suspension from the practice of law under Fowerbaugh, we conclude that a conditionally stayed one-year suspension is sufficient to protect the public from further misconduct. We therefore adopt the board’s recommended sanction.
(Mike Frisch)