In Butler County, Karan Horan bilked three clients out of a total of $11,280 and Bernard S. Marshall Jr. took a $3,000 unearned fee. Both lawyers have been disbarred, according to high court records.
Horan was previously sanctioned for taking $33,762 from 11 clients and Marshall took another client for $3,000. Butler County Bar Association President Don Moser said Horan fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution. Warren County Bar President Jeff Richards said he hasn’t seen Marshall in years.
If a lawyer has broken the law, for example by stealing a client’s money, they are criminally prosecuted. Ethical violations can prompt civil lawsuits Moser says. Funds can be reimbursed for a variety of reasons, but the most common is when an attorney charges an unearned fee. Clients who believe they have been victimized by their lawyer can apply for reimbursement through the Clients’ Security Fund of Ohio.
The process is two-pronged says fund Administrator Janet Green Marbley. A client who believes they have been monetarily harmed by their attorney must file a grievance either with their local bar association or the Supreme Court’s Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline. Next the client has to fill out a two-page application that is available at http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/Boards/clientSecurity/default.aspx.
Marbley said the application must be notarized and all supporting documents such as bills and contracts will need to be included. She said her office will be able to assist people in filling out the form.
The CSF was established in 1985 and is funded with attorney registration fees. The 43,459 attorneys who actively practice law in Ohio pay a $350 registration fee every other year. The maximum reimbursement amount per claimant is $75,000 and since its inception the fund has reimbursed 2,076 victims.
“The money used to reimburse individuals comes from lawyers,” Green Marbley said. “A lot of times people will call and say ‘you’re using tax payer money to do this?’ No, we’re not, we’re using all lawyer money. It’s members of the profession who are helping people who have been harmed by the few who engage in this kind of conduct.”
She said last year less than one-half of one percent of practicing attorneys statewide cheated their clients.
The largest award over the years was for $1.25 million, paid out to 33 clients of Richard D. Goldberg, a Mahoning County attorney who kept the proceeds of a medical malpractice and a wrongful death lawsuit, according to Supreme Court documents. The smallest award issued was $73 each to clients in Montgomery and Stark counties.
Moser said the local bar association has its own grievance committee that hears complaints against lawyers and if the grievance is grave, they will certify the case on to Columbus to the disciplinary system. Moser said there are 404 bar association members in Butler County and about 30 complaints were filed last year, three or four were certified to Columbus.
He said many people probably don’t know the lengths the legal profession goes to prevent incidents where lawyers harm their clients.
“We regulate our own,” he said. “It’s not about, well it’s our friend so we won’t pursue, it doesn’t work that way.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.
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