Unplugged

Ohio Disciplinary Counsel has filed a complaint alleging, among other things, misconduct in the wake of the Respondent’s termination from employment

In early July 2024, [firm partner] Hill entered respondent’s office and discovered that respondent had unplugged his office telephone from the wall and placed it under his desk for an unknown period. When Hill plugged the phone back in, there were over 150 unanswered telephone messages—a majority from respondent’s clients and some from local courts.

When [firm] WHW examined respondent’s laptop, they discovered that respondent had deleted all his client files (e.g., fee agreements, pleadings, notes, and some billing records) on the hard drive and permanently deleted the client files within WHW’s proprietary law firm software. Neither relator nor WHW knows the number of client matters affected.

WHW sent the laptop to a computer professional to recover the missing data. However, the files could not be recovered.

Respondent is alleged to have mishandled matters, failed to pay fees due to the firm and failed to cooperate with the investigation. (Mike Frisch)