Four Attorneys Suspended from Practice
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In separate disciplinary actions announced today, the Supreme Court of Ohio suspended the licenses of attorneys Joseph D. Ohlin of Warren, Henry R. Freeman of Tallmadge, Patrick J. O‘Malley of Chagrin Falls, and Kristin A. Stahlbush of Toledo.
2010-0287. Disciplinary Counsel v. Ohlin, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-3826.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 09-061. Joseph David Ohlin, Attorney Registration No. 0031532, 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-3826.pdf 
(Aug. 24, 2010) The Supreme Court of Ohio has imposed an indefinite suspension against the law license of Joseph D. Ohlin of Warren for causing damage to three different clients by neglecting legal matters they entrusted to him, and for failing to comply with other provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct and Rules for the Government of the Bar. Ohlin’s law license has been under administrative suspension since November 2009 for failure to comply with state attorney registration and continuing education requirements.
The Court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Ohlin’s conduct violated the disciplinary rules that require attorneys to exercise reasonable diligence and promptness, to provide competent representation to their clients, to promptly pay or deliver money to which a client is entitled, to notify clients in writing that the attorney is not covered by professional liability insurance, and to cooperate with disciplinary investigations.
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 the case.
Contacts
Jonathan E. Coughlan, 614.461.0256, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
No current telephone contact information available for Joseph Ohlin.
2010-0346. Disciplinary Counsel v. Freeman, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-3824.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 09-008. Henry Roosevelt Freeman, Attorney Registration No. 0022713, 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-3824.pdf
(Aug. 24, 2010) The license of Tallmadge attorney Henry R. Freeman has been indefinitely suspended for engaging in the practice of law while he was under a previous license suspension, and for failing to comply with the Supreme Court of Ohio’s prior suspension order by failing to notify his clients, opposing counsel and local courts that he had been suspended.
In a 6-0 per curiam decision announced today, the Supreme Court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Freeman violated the terms of an August 2008 disciplinary license suspension by representing two clients in court proceedings in September 2008. The Court also found that by misrepresenting his license status to other parties and the courts in those cases, Freeman violated the state disciplinary rules that prohibit an attorney from engaging in conduct involving fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice; and conduct that adversely reflects on the attorney’s fitness to practice.
The Court’s opinion 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 the case.
Contacts
Jonathan E. Coughlan, 614.461.0256, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
Henry R. Freeman, pro se, No current telephone contact information available.
2009-1444. Disciplinary Counsel v. O’Malley, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-3802.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 09-001. Patrick Joseph O’Malley, Attorney Registration No. 0058659, is suspended from the practice of law in Ohio for two years, with credit for time served under the interim suspension imposed on December 4, 2008, and with completion of federal supervised release as a condition for reinstatement.
Pfeifer, O'Connor, O'Donnell, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
Lundberg Stratton and Lanzinger, JJ., dissent.
Brown, C.J., not participating.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2010/2010-Ohio-3802.pdf
(Aug. 24, 2010) The Supreme Court of Ohio today suspended the law license of attorney and former Cuyahoga County Recorder Patrick J. O’Malley for two years based on his felony conviction for transportation and importation of obscene materials in violation of federal law.
O’Malley has been under an interim license suspension since December 2008, when the Court was notified that he entered a guilty plea and was convicted of violating Section 1462(a), Title 18 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits “the use of an interactive computer service for the carriage in interstate or international commerce of numerous obscene ... pictures, writings and other matters of indecent character.” The bill of information charging O’Malley’s offense, issued two days after he entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, did not specify the nature of the material found on two of his home computers, but indicated that the illegal conduct leading to the charge against him was committed between February 1998 and November 2004.
O’Malley resigned from public office in May 2008 and was sentenced to 15 months in prison followed by a three-year term of federal supervised release.
In today’s decision, a 4-2 majority of the Court adopted a finding by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that O’Malley had engaged in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law, but rejected the board’s recommendation that he receive a 12-month license suspension with credit for the time served under his interim suspension. The Court voted instead to impose a two-year license suspension with credit for time served, with the condition that O’Malley may not apply for reinstatement prior to completion of his term of supervised release.
The majority opinion was joined by Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Maureen O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell and Robert R. Cupp. Justice Evelyn Lundeberg Stratton entered a dissent, joined by Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger, stating that she would impose the sanction recommended by the disciplinary board, a 12-month suspension with credit for time served under interim suspension. Chief Justice Eric Brown did not participate in the Court’s deliberations or decision in the case.
Contacts
Jonathan E. Coughlan, 614.461.0256, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
Richard S. Koblentz, 216.621.3012, for Patrick O’Malley.
2010-0032. Toledo Bar Assn. v. Stahlbush, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-3823.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 08-059. Kristin Ann Stahlbush, Attorney Registration No. 0064019, is suspended from the practice of law in Ohio for two years, with one year stayed on conditions.
Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Farmer, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
Brown, C.J., not participating.
Sheila G. Farmer, J., of the Fifth Appellate District, sitting for Lanzinger, J.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2010/2010-Ohio-3823.pdf
(Aug. 24, 2010) The license of Toledo attorney Kristin A. Stahlbush has been suspended for two years, with the second year of that term stayed on conditions, for repeatedly overbilling the Lucas County juvenile and common pleas courts for her services as court-appointed counsel representing low-income clients.
In a decision announced today, the Supreme Court of Ohio adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Stahlbush engaged in a pattern of professional misconduct by submitting bills to the courts claiming to have worked for more than 24 hours on the same date on three occasions, and billing for more than 20 hours on five other dates during 2006. In all, Stahlbush invoiced the county for a total of 3,451 billable hours for work allegedly performed during that calendar year, a number that would require her to have worked almost 10 hours per day on all 365 days of the year. Stahlbush acknowledged that she had not worked that many hours, and that a number of invoices she submitted to the court did not accurately reflect her actual hours of work on the dates in question.
The Court agreed with the board’s conclusions that by knowingly billing for more hours than she had actually worked, Stahlbush violated the state disciplinary rules that prohibit charging an excessive fee; engaging in conduct involving fraud, deceit, dishonesty or misrepresentation; engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice; and engaging in conduct that adversely reflects on the attorney’s fitness to practice law.
The court’s 6-0 per curiam opinion was joined by Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Maureen O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell, and Robert R. Cupp, and by Judge Sheila G. Farmer of the 5th District Court of Appeals, who sat in place of Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger. Chief Justice Eric Brown did not participate in the court’s deliberations or decision in the case.
Contacts
Jonathan Cherry, 419.242.4969, for the Toledo Bar Association.
Lorin Zaner, 419.242.8214, for Kristin Stahlbush.
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