Columbus, West Chester Attorneys Indefinitely Suspended from Practice
Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion released by the Court, but only for those cases considered noteworthy or of great public interest. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of Court opinions. The full text of this and other Court opinions from 1992 to the present are available online from the Reporter of Decisions. In the Full Text search box, enter the eight-digit case number at the top of this summary and click "Submit."
In separate disciplinary actions announced today, the Supreme Court of Ohio indefinitely suspended the licenses of attorneys Wayne Donald Miller of Columbus and Paul Joseph Kellogg of West Chester.
2009-2283. Disciplinary Counsel v. Miller, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-3287.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 09-050. Wayne Donald Miller, Attorney Registration No. 0058543, is indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Ohio.
Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Lanzinger, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
Brown, C.J., not participating.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2010/2010-Ohio-3287.pdf 
(July 20, 2010) The Supreme Court of Ohio has imposed an indefinite suspension against the law license of Columbus attorney Wayne D. Miller for professional misconduct in his handling of monies entrusted to him by a client, including failure to place client funds in a dedicated trust account, failure to promptly return funds to which a client is entitled, and failure to cooperate with disciplinary authorities investigating the grievance filed against him.
The Court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Miller improperly deposited $41,000 entrusted to him by a client into his law office operating account, and ignored requests by the client to make an accounting for his legal services and to return unearned legal fees and $18,000 he was supposed to hold in trust for the client. Miller also failed to file an answer to the grievance filed against him by the client, or to appear for a scheduled deposition for which he had been subpoenaed.
The court’s 6-0 per curiam decision was joined by Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Maureen O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell, Judith Ann Lanzinger and Robert R. Cupp.
Chief Justice Eric Brown did not participate in the court’s deliberations or decision in this case.
Contacts
Jonathan E. Coughlan, 614.461.0256, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
Wayne D. Miller, pro se, no telephone contact information available.
2009-2302. Cincinnati Bar Assn. v. Kellogg, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-3285.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 08-092. Paul Joseph Kellogg, Attorney Registration No. 0062303, is indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Ohio.
Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, Lanzinger, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
O'Connor and O'Donnell, JJ., dissent.
Brown, C.J., not participating.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2010/2010-Ohio-3285.pdf
View oral argument video of this case.
(July 20, 2010) Attorney Paul J. Kellogg of West Chester has been indefinitely suspended from the practice of law for multiple violations of state attorney discipline rules arising from his convictions on federal criminal counts of money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Kellogg has been under an interim suspension since December 2009 as a result of his felony convictions.
In a 4-2 per curiam decision announced today, the Supreme Court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline that Kellogg’s actions as general counsel for a nutritional supplement firm assisted the company’s owner in concealing $14 million in assets that were in danger of seizure by the Federal Trade Commission and/or subject to future lawsuits by the company’s customers. The Court agreed with the board’s conclusions that Kellogg’s conduct violated, among others, the disciplinary rules that prohibit an attorney from engaging in illegal conduct involving moral turpitude; conduct involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty or misrepresentation; and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Although the disciplinary board recommended a two-year license suspension with six months stayed, a majority of the Court voted to impose an indefinite suspension without eligibility to apply for reinstatement until after Kellogg has completed the three-year term of supervised release imposed by the trial court in his criminal case.
The majority opinion was joined by Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Judith Ann Lanzinger and Robert R. Cupp.
Justice Terrence O’Donnell entered a dissent, joined by Justice Maureen O’Connor, stating that Kellogg’s convictions for money laundering involving $14 million, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to obstruct official proceedings before the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the court’s duty to protect the public from lawyers who fail to adhere to the highest ethical standards, require that Kellogg be disbarred.
Chief Justice Eric Brown did not participate in the court’s deliberations or decision in this case.
Contacts
Peter Rosenwald, 513.621.2257, for the Cincinnati Bar Association.
David C. Greer, 223.3277, for Paul Kellogg.
Requires the free Adobe Flash Player.View system requirements, download instructions, and download the free Adobe Flash Player.