Opinion
No. 91-411
Submitted April 9, 1991 —
Decided July 10, 1991.
ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Supreme Court, Nos. 89-16 and 90-32.
In complaints filed April 21, 1989 and April 27, 1990, relator, Cleveland Bar Association, charged that respondent, Gladys E. Harrison, had violated, inter alia, DR 1-102(A)(4) (engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), 6-101(A)(3) (neglecting an entrusted legal matter), 7-101(A)(2) (failing to carry out a contract for employment), 2-110(A)(1) (withdrawing as counsel without permission as required by court rule), 2-110(A)(2) (withdrawing as counsel without reasonable efforts to avoid prejudice to client), 2-110(C)(5) (withdrawing as counsel without client's permission) and Gov.Bar R. V(5)(a) (failing to cooperate with the investigation of a certified grievance committee). These matters were heard separately by a panel of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Supreme Court on November 17, 1989 and November 16, 1990; however, the panel and board considered both complaints together in their reports.
The evidence in support of the first complaint establishes that Mary E. Hilliard engaged respondent in the summer of 1986 to resolve a contractual dispute over payment for some unsatisfactory home repairs. Respondent prepared a complaint against the repair company and others, and provided a copy to Hilliard. Hilliard paid respondent $50 in filing fees during November 1986, but respondent never filed the suit, and she failed to return Hilliard's many telephone calls. The panel found that this conduct violated DR 1-102(A)(4), 6-101(A)(3), and 7-101(A)(2). Because respondent did not respond to relator's letters and did not appear at a witness deposition, the panel further found a violation of Gov.Bar R. V(5)(a).
The evidence in support of the second complaint establishes that in March 1987, respondent agreed to represent Charles Young of Cleveland Heights in a race and sex discrimination case to be filed in federal district court. Respondent was appointed Young's counsel in February 1988. Thereafter, she failed to take action in the case even though the district court judge instructed her to either prosecute the matter or refer it to another attorney. Respondent also failed to secure permission to withdraw as Young's counsel. The panel found that this conduct violated DR 6-101(A)(3), 7-101(A)(2), and 2-110(A)(1), (2) and (C)(5).
Before making its recommendation, the panel considered that respondent had worked only part-time as a law clerk or on her own since she passed the bar in 1984. The panel also considered that she has had difficulty maintaining and managing a practice as a sole practitioner and that she is now employed by the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in a position that does not require her to represent clients.
The panel recommended that respondent be suspended from the practice of law for one year, with six months of the suspension stayed on the conditions (1) that respondent return Hilliard's filing fee and (2) that respondent serve a two-year probation period during which she is to consult with a monitor on any matter she accepts for a client. The board adopted the panel's findings and its recommendation.
J. Michael Drain, Engeline H. Koepper and Michael Wypasek, for relator.
Gladys E. Harrison, pro se.
We agree that respondent committed the disciplinary violations found by the board. We also agree with the board's recommendation. Accordingly, respondent is ordered suspended from the practice of law in Ohio for one year, but six months of the suspension is stayed on the condition that she repays Hilliard and serves a two-year monitored probation period. Costs taxed to respondent.
Judgment accordingly.
MOYER, C.J., SWEENEY, HOLMES, DOUGLAS, WRIGHT, H. BROWN and RESNICK, JJ., concur.