Experienced In Law But Not In Running Law Firm

The Ohio Supreme Court has imposed a fully-stayed one year suspension of an attorney who had overdrawn his client trust account and used the account for personal and business expenses.

The attorney explained that the money was from his wife and not client funds.

He was admitted in 1969 but:

He stated that for most of his legal career, he worked for a large law firm and had not been responsible for conducting the firm's banking, and he did not receive training regarding proper client-trust-account management until 2012. [He] now understands that his handling of his client trust account was inappropriate and he sincerely apologized for his misconduct.

He had failed to respond initially to the bar's investigation because he "froze."

The attorney had significant mitigation relating to "major depression occasioned by a series of personal tragedies."

He must cooperate with the bar's treatment program. (Mike Frisch)