Ohio Lawyer - Ohio State Bar Association

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T H E O H I O S TAT E B AR AS S O C I AT I O N ME MB E R MAG A Z IN E
VO L. 29, NO. 1
w.ohioba r.org
JA NUARY/FEBRU
Terminating lawyer-client relationships
while avoiding potential malpractice claims
Pro bono efforts
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Ohio State Bar Association
1
Ohio Lawyer January/February
September/October2015
2013
www.ohiobar.org
OhioLawyer
Vol. 29 No. 1
Departments
3 | President’s Perspective
Why judicial elections matter and why lawyers should
care about them.
Headline:
Subhead:
Body
copy:
Features
voiding malpractice: Terminating
6 | Alawyer-client
relationships
by Lindsey Carr Siegler, Gregory R. Farkas and
Christopher C. Koehler
There is a strict time period during which clients
may file malpractice claims against an attorney—
but determining the accrual date for a terminated
lawyer-client relationship can be difficult without
a definitive cause of action.
10 |
14 |
Giving back for the greater good:
Pro bono efforts in Ohio
by Erin Killeen
With dramatic cuts to legal aid and more
Ohioans than ever lacking access to adequate
legal representation, bar associations around the
state are ramping up efforts to provide pro bono
services to those who need it most.
Member Spotlight Series:
Joseph Cirigliano
5 | In Brief
Nearly 800 admitted to practice law in Ohio at bar
admission ceremonies; workers often unable to use all
time off they earn; top salaries for first-year associates
remain flat; Supreme Court’s electronic filing portal
now open; Attorney Services Fund releases 2014
annual report.
18 | Inside OSBA
Winter 2015 OSBA committee and section meetings
coming soon; section councils seeking new members;
call for articles.
21 | Foundation News
OSBF honors excellence in the profession.
22 | Did You Know?
Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is
critical protection.
24 | Counsel Comments
Potpourri.
26 | Books & Bytes
Connect, advance and succeed with ohiobar.org.
27 | Member News
Awards and community involvement of
OSBA members.
28 | Member Benefits
Get the most out of your OSBA membership.
by Nina Corbut
For more than 60 years, Lorain County’s own
Joe Cirigliano has been an invaluable member
of Ohio’s legal profession. He sat down with
Ohio Lawyer to talk about his community, his
career and his continuing passion for the law.
www.ohiobar.org
January/February 2015
Ohio Lawyer
1
OhioLawyer
Ohio Lawyer is published bimonthly
by the Ohio State Bar Association.
Ohio Lawyer Staff
Editor: Nina Corbut
Editorial: Andrew Hartzell,
John Hocter
Graphic Designer: Andrea Donahue
Advertising: Terry Henson
Website Editor: Dan Beckley
Board of Editors
David Hejmanowski, Chair, Delaware
Steve Bolton, Youngstown
J. Kristin Burkett, Newark
Hilary Ruth Damaser, Columbus
Thomas L. Guillozet, Versailles
Judge James Jensen, Toledo
William Kaufman, Lebanon
OSBA Officers
President:
Martin E. Mohler, Toledo
President-elect:
John D. Holschuh Jr., Cincinnati
Alan J. Lehenbauer, Swanton
Kris Long, Columbus
Joseph L. Ludovici, East Liverpool
Kevin P. Murphy, Warren
Marquettes D. Robinson, Cleveland
Stephen L. Smith, New Bremen
Executive Director:
Mary Amos Augsburger
Advertising Sales and Editorial Offices
Ohio State Bar Association
P.O. Box 16562
Columbus, Ohio 43216-6562
(800) 282-6556; (614) 487-2050
Advertising: [email protected]
Editorial: [email protected]
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Editorial Offices
Ohio Lawyer (issn 1097-6493) is published bimonthly by the Ohio State Bar Association,
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Ohio Lawyer is published as a service to members of the Ohio State Bar Association through
their dues and is not available to nonmember attorneys. Governmental agencies and
educational and legal research organizations may subscribe annually for $35. Single copies to
members and qualified subscribers are $7.
©Copyright 2015 by the Ohio State Bar Association. All rights reserved. Any copying of
materials herein, in whole or in part, and by any means, without written permission, is prohibited. Requests for reprint permission should be sent to the Ohio Lawyer editorial offices.
Editor reserves the right to reject any advertising submitted for publication. While advertising copy is reviewed, no endorsement of any product or service offered by any advertisement
is intended or implied by publication in Ohio Lawyer. Statements or expressions of opinion
herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Ohio State Bar Association, its
officers, staff or the board of editors.
Manuscript Submission
OSBA members are encouraged to submit manuscripts to the editor for possible publication
in Ohio Lawyer. Articles submitted should not exceed 10 typewritten, double-spaced pages.
Manuscripts are not purchased, and those submitted become the property of the Ohio State
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Postmaster (usps 016-304): Send address changes to Ohio Lawyer, P.O. Box 16562,
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WILLIAM K. WEISENBERG
FUND
FOR CIVICS
WILLIAM
K. WEISENBERG
FUND EDUCATION
FOR CIVICS EDUCATION
Want to prepare the next
generation of citizens and
honor more than
three decades of
commitment to civics
education by OSBA
Assistant Executive Director William
K. Weisenberg as he prepares to retire?
Now you can do both.
Consider making a “Dollar a Day for
Five Years” pledge to the William K.
Weisenberg Fund for Civics Education.
That’s $1,825 that you can pay all at
once, or over the course of five years as a
pledge. And if you choose to contribute
at a different level, that gift will be
gratefully accepted as well.
Tax-deductible contributions should be
sent to the Ohio State Bar Foundation,
1700 Lake Shore Drive, Columbus, Ohio
43204. And you can donate online at
www.osbf.net/give. Be sure to earmark
your contribution for the William K.
Weisenberg Fund for Civics Education.
Questions? Contact:
Jonathan Hollingsworth at
[email protected],
Ann Zarate at (614) 487-4477 or
[email protected].
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& Stuart Jenner: Cover & 6
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www.ohiobar.org
President’s Perspective
Why judicial elections matter and
why lawyers should care about them
by Martin E. Mohler
“All the rights secured to the
citizens under the Constitution are
worth nothing, and a mere bubble,
except guaranteed to them by an
independent and virtuous judiciary.”
—Andrew Jackson
On the heels of the most recent statewide judicial election cycle,
and the spate of complaints the Ohio State Bar Association
received, it may be instructive to look back to see how those campaigns were handled and what role organizations like ours played
in statewide judicial elections. Although the OSBA does not get
directly involved in these judicial races, it is important that we,
as lawyers, help ensure that the public has accurate information
about judicial candidate qualifications and experience and that the
public has trust and confidence in the conduct of elections.
The OSBA works in several ways to provide information to members of the public to assist them in making informed decisions
when voting for judges.
For example, the OSBA established the Commission on Judicial
Candidates pursuant to the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.
This commission appoints a 25-member panel that evaluates each
of the statewide judicial candidates according to these non-political criteria: legal knowledge and ability, professional competence,
judicial temperament, integrity, diligence, professional responsibility and public/community service. In addition, the panel reviews
references and materials submitted by the candidates, conducts
in-person interviews with the candidates as well as personal
inquiries among lawyers, judges and others. The panel determines
its ratings, based on its evaluations, by secret ballot. Ratings range
from “not recommended” to “superior.” These ratings are provided
to the candidates for their use, and the commission also publicizes
them. In addition to being shared with Ohio media outlets, the
www.ohiobar.org
ratings are also posted on the OSBA website. Media outlets widely
use the ratings when preparing news stories and endorsements.
The OSBA has also been involved in attempting to lessen the
amount of negative advertising in statewide judicial elections. In
2000, the OSBA expressed concern about negative advertising in
races for the Supreme Court of Ohio. In that year, ads demeaned
the judiciary and candidates running for the court, serving as a
catalyst for creation of the OSBA Judicial Election Campaign
Advertising Monitoring Committee. This committee consists of
11 persons, three of whom are non-lawyers. No more than five
members of the committee can be from the same political party.
The advertising monitoring committee asks all candidates for
statewide judicial office to sign a “clean campaign pledge” well
in advance of the election. Candidates who sign the committee’s
pledge agree, based upon their personal examination of judicial
advertisements, to publicly disavow advertisements that violate the
guidelines. This year, all four candidates for the Supreme Court of
Ohio signed the clean campaign pledge.
Only the chair of this committee or his/her designee communicates with the media or issues statements on the committee’s behalf, and committee deliberations, discussions and records are kept
confidential. The presence of a quorum of six members is required
for the committee to act officially.
The committee considers matters pertaining to any judicial advertising complaint that is received by written communication, either
by regular mail or electronic mail, from any source. The committee investigates a complaint if there is evidence that a campaign ad
impugns the integrity of the judicial system, the integrity of a candidate for the Supreme Court or Ohio, or erodes public trust or
confidence in the independence and impartiality of the judiciary
by verbally or visually attempting to lead voters to believe that a
candidate will decide issues or cases in a predetermined manner.
If cause exists to investigate a complaint, the advertising monitoring committee notifies the campaign committee and/or the
third party committee that is the subject of the complaint as well
as the campaign committee of the candidate’s opponent. Action
on a complaint is within the advertising monitoring committee’s
discretion. The committee may ask the candidate to withdraw a
particular ad or statement or take other action as it deems appropriate, including publicizing its finding that the ad is negative
Ohio Lawyer
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through vehicles such as news conferences, news releases, OpEd
columns, letters to the editor, videos, social media and other public
statements. This year, the monitoring committee evaluated several
judicial ads and spoke out about at least one of them.
Another way that the OSBA attempts to protect the role of the
judiciary is through a mechanism that allows the Association to
publicly defend judges and the judiciary when either is unjustly
criticized, especially when exercising professional, ethical and
constitutional duties, or when such unjust criticism could erode
the public’s trust and confidence in the judicial system. This policy
also applies to lawyers and/or judges running for public office.
During this last election cycle, the unjust criticism protocol was
used on one occasion. Is our process perfect? Maybe not. Therefore, I created a new Task Force on Judicial Elections and Public
Trust and Confidence. Appointments have been made and the
work of the task force is underway. I invite you to provide any
thoughts you may have for the task force to consider.
Responses to unjust criticism focus on providing members of the
public with information to help them better understand the legal
issues presented related to a specific situation, including the role
of attorneys and judges, the application of law and the restrictions
and responsibilities placed on lawyers and judges under the canons
and rules.
I welcome your input on how the OSBA can best provide the
public with information about the judiciary and judicial races, and
whether our present system is working effectively. Please send your
thoughts to me at [email protected].
If the OSBA determines that a response to unjust criticism is appropriate, additional consideration is first given about whether the
Association should respond alone or in conjunction with another
bar association.
JIC-336_OhioLawyer_ 7.5” w x 4.754_P1a_Print.pdf
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6/12/14
We at the OSBA are not alone in our efforts to provide members
of the public with the information they need regarding judicial
elections. A number of bar associations around Ohio conduct various types of judicial rating or evaluating systems to provide
this information.
Martin E. Mohler is president of the Ohio State
Bar Association.
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Ohio Lawyer January/February 2015
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In Brief
Compiled by Erin Killeen
Nearly 800 admitted to practice
law in Ohio
Supreme Court’s electronic
filing portal now open
On Nov. 17, 2014, 793 new lawyers were admitted to practice law
in Ohio. Out of 1,173 applicants who sat for the July Ohio bar
examination, 902 (77 percent) received passing scores; 793 walked
the stage on Nov. 17 with their certificates of admission to the
practice of law. The new lawyers were encouraged to put their newly
acquired expertise to good use, even if not immediately as attorneys.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell gave the keynote
speech during the ceremony. Justice O’Donnell urged the new
lawyers to use their talents to ensure that the nation always serves as
an example of a strong legal system and an independent judiciary
that is respected by its people. “You raise new hope in America, and
you will build public confidence in the rule of law as you take your
rightful place as lawyers in Ohio,” he said. Following the ceremony,
the attorneys and their families visited the Thomas J. Moyer Ohio
Judicial Center, including the Supreme Court courtroom and the
Law Library.
—Ohiobar.org
The Ohio Supreme Court’s new automated electronic filing system
was launched Oct. 23. The program will be expanded to all registered lawyers in early 2015 and to pro se filers later in the year. “I
think the system will be very helpful to prosecutors across the state,
especially those facing a time crunch who would otherwise need
to travel to Columbus to file their documents,” Franklin County
Assistant Prosecutor Steven Taylor said during training for lawyers in
the pilot program.
Workers often unable to use
all time off they earn
The portal is available on the Supreme Court website at
www.supremecourt.ohio.gov and includes a user guide with
step-by-step instructions.
—Courtnewsohio.gov
One in four working Americans are unable to take all of their paid
time off during the year, a survey by Adecco Staffing U.S. finds. Of
those who did take a vacation, 89 percent say they checked email,
70 percent made work-related calls and 25 percent went to the office
for an in-person meeting in what was supposed to be time away
from the office. Twenty-two percent even cut their vacations short
because of work-related duties. But working Americans seem to find
other ways of reclaiming vacation time. Twenty-two percent admit
to planning to report for work late or leave work early when they
know their boss will be out of the office.
—Businessjournaldaily.com
Top salaries for first-year
associates remain flat
Although first-year associate salaries of $160,000 are still common at
firms of more than 700 lawyers, the prevalence of $160,000 salaries
at these firms is far below what it was just five years ago, accounting for just over one quarter of the salaries reported by firms of this
size. By contrast, in 2009, a year considered the high point for large
firm salaries, nearly two-thirds of first-year salaries were reported
as $160,000. The reason for the shift can be attributed to a change
in the structure of today’s large firms. As more firms have grown
through acquisition and merger, many firms with more than 700
lawyers are made up of many smaller regional offices, none of which
pay the benchmark first-year salary of $160,000. As a result, a larger
percentage of large law firm starting salaries fall below that mark.
However, the $160,000 salary still stands as the high salary paid to
first-year associates, as it has since 2007. In 2014, the national median first-year associate salary at the largest firms was $135,000, the
lowest since 2006. However, $160,000 has stood as the single most
commonly reported salary since 2008.
—NALP.org
www.ohiobar.org
There are several guidelines for e-filing, including:
• Filing documents through the e-Filing Portal does not alter any
filing deadlines imposed by the Rules of Practice of the Supreme
Court of Ohio.
• Documents received after 5 p.m. Eastern Time through the
e-Filing Portal will not be considered for filing until the next business day.
Attorney Services Fund
releases 2014 annual report
More than half of the money collected by the Ohio Supreme Court’s
Attorney Services Fund in fiscal year 2014 went to support the attorney discipline process, according to an annual report published
on Oct. 31, 2014. The money comes primarily from attorney
registration, late registration, and reinstatement fees. The Supreme
Court allocated $9.4 million from the Attorney Services Fund at
the beginning of fiscal year 2014. According to the report, the fund
expended nearly $8.7 million. That total includes more than $5 million for disciplinary-related expenses.
The fund also supported:
• The administration of the Attorney Services Division, which
oversees the delivery of services to Ohio attorneys and assists the
Supreme Court in the exercise of its constitutional duty to regulate the practice of law.
• The Clients’ Security Fund to compensate clients of dishonest
attorneys.
• The Reporter of Decisions to publish attorney discipline legal
notices in newspapers.
The fund also provided grants to the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation to support legal services for low-income Ohioans, and to the
Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program to provide intervention services
to lawyers, judges, and law students who suffer from alcoholism,
substance abuse or mental illness.
—Courtnewsohio.gov
Ohio Lawyer
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www.ohiobar.org
Avoiding malpractice:
Terminating lawyer-client relationships
by Lindsey Carr Siegler, Gregory R. Farkas and Christopher C. Koehler
There is a strict time period during which clients may file malpractice
claims against an attorney—but determining the accrual date for a
terminated lawyer-client relationship can be difficult without a definitive
cause of action.
The statute of limitations for legal malpractice claims is short—one year. But
the calculation of that one-year period is
hardly straightforward. As with all statutes
of limitations, the period is measured from
the date of accrual. In the case of legal
malpractice, “accrual” can be determined
in multiple ways, springing a potential trap
for an attorney who mistakenly thought
that the threat of a malpractice claim
on a prior engagement had long passed.
No attorney, no matter how thorough,
diligent, responsive or effective, is safe from
claims of malpractice. But all attorneys
can obtain some peace of mind by understanding when a claim accrues and, more
importantly, taking easy steps to ensure the
accrual period is not open-ended.
Under Ohio law, an action for legal malpractice must be filed within one year after
the cause of action accrues.1 The Supreme
Court of Ohio has established the following standard for determining when a cause
of action for legal malpractice accrues:
[T]he statute of limitations begins
to run when there is a cognizable
event whereby the client discovers
or should have discovered that his
injury was related to his attorney’s
act or non-act and the client is
put on notice of a need to pursue
his possible remedies against the
attorney or when the attorney-client relationship for that particular
transaction or undertaking terminates, whichever occurs later.2
Thus, in deciding whether a malpractice action is barred by the statute of
limitations, a court must make two factual
www.ohiobar.org
determinations: when the attorney-client
relationship terminated, and when a cognizable event occurred. The latter of these
two events triggers the running of the statute of limitations. To afford yourself more
certainty in your practice, therefore, it is
important to understand how and when
the relationship is considered “terminated,”
and what constitutes a “cognizable event.”
Termination of the relationship
In Ohio, “for the purposes of the accrual of
a legal malpractice claim, an attorney-client
relationship ends when the attorney-client
relationship for that particular transaction or undertaking terminates.”3 Under
this “particular transaction” rule, the
statute may begin to run as to a particular
transaction, even though the attorney may
continue to represent the client on other
matters. According to the Supreme Court
of Ohio, “general” representation does not
toll the statute of limitations.4
Because an attorney-client relationship is
consensual in nature, the actions of either
party can affect its continuance.5 Of course,
the most unambiguous signal that the
relationship has terminated is a communication, written or oral, that the relationship
has ended.6 However, because conduct that
“dissolves the essential mutual confidence
between attorney and client” signifies the
termination of the relationship, an explicit
statement terminating the relationship is not
always necessary.7 As such, “where a client,
unbeknownst to her attorney, retains new
counsel to represent her in the case in which
current counsel is providing representation,
and then purposely conceals and misrepresents that retention, a termination letter or
other formal communication between at-
torney and client is not required in order to
find that the relationship has terminated.”8
Correspondence that purports to terminate
the relationship must be unequivocal—indeed, any ambiguity or hesitation weighs
against a finding of termination. Absent an
unambiguous communication, courts focus
heavily on the intent of the parties, which
can be more difficult to establish without a
clear, written communication. For example,
in Scherer v. Wiles, although the attorney
sent a client an email stating, “we are out,”
the court declined to find the communication an unambiguous termination, that
triggered the statute of limitations. According to the court, “the intention behind the
words is unclear. Though [the attorney]
stated, ‘we are out,’ his email two days later
said that they had not withdrawn, but were
out if Plaintiff was out.”9
Similarly, in McOwen v. Zena, although
the client wrote a first letter to the attorney expressing her intent to end their
relationship, this letter was not sufficient.
According to the court, the “letter was
not an unequivocal termination of the
attorney-client relationship … .” Rather, it
was “expressing [the client’s] intent to do
so, putting [the attorney] on notice of [her]
dissatisfaction with his representation, and
affording him the opportunity to cure that
dissatisfaction.” Instead, the court held the
relationship was terminated by a subsequent letter in which the client expressed
her unequivocal decision “to dismiss him as
her attorney.”10
Other courts have found that only letters
with unambiguous language have signaled
the end of the attorney-client relationship.
Ohio Lawyer
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Such was the case in Duvall v. Manning
(letter stating “I am terminating this relationship effective immediately” constituted termination of relationship) and Cook
v. Caruso (letter stating client retained
other counsel and was terminating the
attorney’s services effective immediately
was an unequivocal termination of
the relationship).11
Where there is no communication at issue, courts focus on the parties’ actions to
determine their intent, again requiring the
intent to be unequivocal before recognizing a termination. Perhaps surprisingly, it
is the granting of a motion to withdraw as
counsel, not the filing of the motion, that
triggers the statute of limitations. In Brautigam v. Damon, the court held despite the
filing of a motion for leave to withdraw, the
attorney-client relationship continued.12
The attorney could not prove the client was
aware of the filing, and there was evidence
to suggest the attorney continued to perform work for the client. The relationship
only terminated once the client sent a
letter expressing an unequivocal desire
for other counsel.13
Once a motion to withdraw is granted,
however, absent some independent, conflicting conduct on behalf of the parties, an
attorney-client relationship is likely to be
deemed terminated.14
Similarly, retaining new lawyers on a matter, without more, does not necessarily constitute an affirmative act of termination.15
Thus, while a lack of trust may lead to the
termination of the attorney-client relationship, that does not necessarily signal termination of the relationship. In R.E. Holland
Excavating, Inc. v. Martin, Browne, Hull &
Harper, P.L.L., the relationship was not terminated when client’s new counsel sent the
first attorney a letter indicating that client
believed attorney negligently represented
client in the first action.16 As the court
explained, “[a]lthough an attorney-client
relationship is ideally characterized by the
client’s reposing trust and confidence in
the attorney, this is not always the case.”17
Accordingly, a client’s consultation with
another attorney does not necessarily
terminate the client’s relationship with the
original attorney.18
In contrast, certain activities by newly
retained attorneys may constitute affirmative acts terminating the original
attorney-client relationship. In Burzynski v.
Bradley & Bradley & Farris Co., L.P.A., the
relationship possibly ended when attorneys
notified the client they would not represent him and client picked up his file; the
relationship unquestionably ended when
the client retained new counsel who filed a
lawsuit involving the same subject matter.19
In Disabato v. Thomas M. Tyack & Assocs.
Co., L.P.A., the newly retained attorney
filed a lawsuit involving the same subject
matter on which the attorney had been
representing the client.20
At times, the existence of the attorney-client
relationship will depend on the status of
a particular transaction. For example, in
Capital City Energy Grp., Inc. v. Kelley Drye
& Warren, LLP, the lawyers claimed that,
for the purposes of evaluating malpractice
claims related to the negotiation and drafting of a merger agreement, the attorney’s
representation ended on the date the
transaction closed.21 The client argued the
representation continued a few months afterward, while the parties performed smaller,
somewhat related tasks. The court concluded there was no such bright line rule:
It cannot be that, as a matter of
law, representation terminates
at the time a transaction closes;
indeed, attorneys regularly revisit
ostensibly closed transactions to
fix mistakes and make alterations
… . Nor can it be that representation as to a particular transaction includes every subsequent
undertaking that would not have
taken place but for the fact of the
underlying transaction. Past and
present circumstances necessarily
impact future courses of action.
Thus, if “but-for” causation
Best practices to avoid uncertainty and open-ended claims
While it may be impossible to avoid the assertion of a claim, attorneys can take steps to bring more certainty to the potential for claims,
as well as the scope of such claims, by incorporating a few simple measures into their regular practices:
• Get it in writing. At the beginning of the relationship and a particular matter, engagement letters should be specific. They should set
forth in reasonable detail the parameters of the representation. At the end of the relationship, attorneys should send correspondence
stating as much. Rather than a formal, awkward “This engagement has ended …” letter, seize the opportunity to thank the client for
the opportunity to work with him or her on the engagement, invite feedback on the representation, and seek opportunities to work
together again in the future. You will make it clear the matter is concluded, but in a manner that fosters a continued relationship.
• Billing-related communications can present an opportunity to make it clear that an engagement has ended. Once a matter is over,
send the final bill promptly, and be sure to communicate that it is indeed the final bill for the matter. This is particularly helpful if
you continue to represent the client on other matters, because it makes clear that this discrete matter is ended.
• If a client engages additional counsel on a matter, attorneys should obtain a clear delineation of the responsibilities of each set of
counsel. This will obviously help the parties manage the relationship during the representation, but it can also serve after the fact to
clarify exactly what each attorney’s responsibilities were. To the extent it appears the client no longer needs or wants your services,
confirm that fact in writing.
• Any motion to withdraw as counsel should be accompanied by an unambiguous letter to the client stating the attorney intends to
terminate the relationship effective immediately. The filing of a motion, alone, will likely be insufficient to terminate the representation.
• If the attorney suspects some cognizable event has occurred—i.e., the client has experienced a serious setback in a civil or criminal
case, or the client has expressed a loss of confidence in the attorney’s ability—the attorney should address the situation directly, clarifying the existence of a continued relationship. Again, you risk ambiguity, which will be resolved in favor of the client on a statute of
limitations question, if you don’t confirm that fact in writing.
8
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alone were sufficient to tie future
instances of representation to a
prior transaction, the “particular
transaction” rule would become a
rule of general representation for
all practical purposes. Ohio law
forbids this result.22
Instead, Ohio courts have held that a “particular transaction” encompasses “all dealings related to the proceeding in which the
alleged malpractice occurred that are not
of a general nature.”23 For subsequent work
to satisfy the “related to test,” a client must
allege that the attorneys acted to “fix, alter,
or renegotiate” some portion of the original
transaction.24 Thus, the Capital City court
held that representation as to this particular
transaction terminated on the date that
transaction closed. Although the client
consulted the attorneys for several months
after the closing, these consultations were
not for the purposes of fixing, altering, or
renegotiating the terms of the agreement.
Occurrence of a cognizable event
Alternatively, the malpractice statute of
limitation accrues when a “cognizable
event” occurs. A cognizable event alerts a
reasonable client that his or her attorney
has committed an improper act in the
course of legal representation.25 Although
the event puts the client on notice to
investigate the facts relevant to the claim to
pursue possible remedies, the client need
not have discovered all of the necessary
facts to trigger the statute of limitations.26
For example, courts generally recognize the
underlying incident that forms the basis
of the malpractice claim as the cognizable
event that triggers the statute of limitations. In Conley, where the client alleged
the attorney’s malpractice resulted in a
conviction, the date of the conviction is
the cognizable event.27 In Badgett v. Schulman, where a client’s malpractice claim was
founded upon the attorney’s handling of
the plea agreement, the client’s sentencing
was the cognizable event.28
A client’s admitted or expressed dissatisfaction with the lawyer’s performance also
constitutes a cognizable event that demonstrates he or she is aware of the potential
injury.29 In Getch v. Jeffrey T. Orndorff Co.,
L.P.A., the court held three cognizable
events occurred, any one of which was sufficient to start the running of the statute of
limitations: the client’s brother-in-law advised the attorney the client had discharged
him; the client testified she panicked over
the attorney’s failure to perform certain and
believed she may have an injury caused by
www.ohiobar.org
the attorney; and the client gave the attorney a check and told him that his services
were no longer required.30
However, where a client expresses dissatisfaction with the attorney, and the attorney
attempts to shift the blame to other factors
or individuals, the attorney may unwittingly suspend the trigger of the statute
of limitations. In McOwen, the client
claimed that she was dissatisfied with the
lack of progress in her case in the spring
or summer 2008.31 However, her attorney replied that her case was proceeding
properly, specifically telling her about court
hearings, depositions, and continuances.
Thus, the court held it was reasonable the
client would not have known that the lack
of progress was related to the attorney’s
malpractice. Instead, the earliest date the
client should have been aware of her injury
was in August 2008, when she learned her
case had been dismissed.
Finally, the act of retaining another attorney to file a suit regarding the same subject
matter is an affirmative act demonstrating
to a reasonable person that the attorney
client relationship had ended.32 Once the
client has engaged replacement counsel, he
or she is presumably aware of the prior attorney’s actions which form the basis of any
arguable claim for malpractice.
Author bio
Lindsey Carr Siegler, Gregory R. Farkas
and Christopher C. Koehler, attorneys at
Frantz Ward LLP in Cleveland. The authors are all members of the firm’s professional liability practice group.
Endnotes
1 See R.C. 2305.11(A).
2 Zimmie v. Calfee, Halter & Griswold, 43 Ohio
St.3d 54, 55, 538 N.E.2d 398 (1989).
3 FDIC v. Alexander, 78 F.3d 1103, 1110 (6th
Cir.1996) (internal citation and quotation omitted).
4 Omni-Food & Fashion, Inc. v. Smith, 38 Ohio
St.3d 385, 388, 528 N.E.2d 941 (1988).
5 See Ruf v. Belfance, 9th Dist. Summit No.
26297, 2013-Ohio-160, ¶ 17 (the client’s actions
unequivocally terminated the relationship; “the
fact that [the attorney] did not know that [the
client] had terminated the relationship and
continued to do work for her is not dispositive”).
6 Merkosky v. Wilson, 11th Dist. Lake No. 2008-L017, 2008-Ohio-3252, ¶ 24.
7 Brown v. Johnstone, 5 Ohio App.3d 165, 166167, 450 N.E.2d 693 (9th Dist. 1982).
8 Ruf at 19.
9 Scherer v. Wiles, S.D.Ohio No. 2:12-cv-1101,
2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121970, *5-7 (Sept. 2,
2014).
10 McOwen v. Zena, 7th Dist. Mahoning No. 11
MA 58, 2012-Ohio-4568, ¶ 21-22.
11 See Duvall v. Manning, 11th Dist. Lake No.
2010-L-069, 2011-Ohio-2587, ¶ 11, 29; and
Cook v. Caruso, 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-05-1208,
2006-Ohio-1982, ¶ 9, 28.
12 Brautigam v. Damon, S.D.Ohio No. 1:11-cv551, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117962, *15-18
(Aug. 19, 2013).
13 See also Smith v. Conley, 109 Ohio St.3d 141,
2006-Ohio-2035, 846 N.E. 2d 509, ¶ 9 (holding that the existence of an attorney client relationship depends on the intent of the parties, not
on the local rules of court that regulate attorney
withdrawal).
14 See Daniel v. McKinney, 181 Ohio App.3d 1,
2009-Ohio-690, 907 N.E.2d 787, ¶ 53 (2d
Dist.) (“[H]is motion did not purport to be selfexecuting, but looked []to the further action of
the trial court … to accomplish the termination
of the attorney-client relationship”).
15 See Scherer, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121970 at
*5-7 (“A reasonable juror could find that the
appointment of new counsel was not the end of
the [attorney’s] representation of [the client], but
merely [the client’s] choice to hire other attorneys
to assist in his representation”).
16 R.E. Holland Excavating, Inc. v. Martin, Browne,
Hull & Harper, P.L.L., 162 Ohio App.3d 471,
2005-Ohio-3662, 833 N.E. 2d 1273, ¶ 6 (2d
Dist.)
17 Id. at ¶ 14.
18 See, e.g., Chapman v. Basinger, 71 Ohio App.3d
5, 9, 592 N.E. 2d 908 (3d Dist. 1991) (“[S]
imply talking to another lawyer will not break a
previous attorney-client relationship”).
19 See, e.g., Burzynski v. Bradley & Bradley & Farris
Co., L.P.A., 10th Dist. Franklin No. 01AP-782,
2001-Ohio-8846, *4 (Dec. 31, 2001).
20 Disabato v. Thomas M. Tyack & Assocs. Co.,
L.P.A., 10th Dist. Franklin No. 98AP-1282,
1999 Ohio App. LEXIS 4212, *3 (Sept. 14,
1999).
21 Capital City Energy Grp., Inc. v. Kelley Drye &
Warren, LLP, 975 F. Supp.2d 842 (S.D.Ohio
2013).
22 Id. at 853-54.
23 Antioch Litig. Trust v. McDermott Will & Emery
LLP (“Antioch I”), 738 F. Supp.2d 758, 779
(S.D.Ohio 2010).
24 Antioch Litig. Trust v. McDermott Will & Emery
LLP, S.D.Ohio No. 3:09-cv-218, 2013 U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 46779, *7 (April 1, 2013).
25 Spencer v. McGill, 87 Ohio App.3d 267, 278,
622 N.E.2d 7, (8th Dist. 1993).
26 Flowers v. Walker, 63 Ohio St.3d 546, 549, 589
N.E.2d 1284 (1992).
27 Conley, 109 Ohio St.3d at ¶ 5
28 Badgett v. Schulman, N.D.Ohio No. 3:12-cv1135, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49535 (Mar. 26,
2014).
29 See Dottore v. Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease,
L.L.P., 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 98861, 2014Ohio-25, ¶ 70 (holding the client’s statement
they would “explore [their] options going
forward,” in the context of other communications, demonstrated the client knew of their
purported injury).
30 Getch v. Jeffrey T. Orndorff Co., L.P.A., 11th
Dist. Geauga No. 2012-G-3120, 2013-Ohio3973, ¶ 68-70.
31 McOwen, 2012-Ohio-4568 at ¶ 32-33.
32 Va. Homes, Ltd. v. Goldman, 10th Dist. Franklin No. 13AP-1012, 2014-Ohio-1750, ¶ 33.
Ohio Lawyer
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Giving back for
the greater good:
Pro bono efforts in Ohio
by Erin Killeen
With dramatic cuts to legal aid and more Ohioans than
ever lacking access to adequate legal representation, bar
associations around the state are ramping up efforts to
provide pro bono services to those who need it most.
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Ohio Lawyer
11
For Ohio’s economically disadvantaged,
obtaining legal services can be nearly
impossible. Legal aid resources throughout
the state have diminished significantly over
the last five years, with state and federal
funding for Ohio’s two largest legal aid
societies reduced to half.1
For this reason, pro bono legal assistance
through attorney volunteerism can make
a substantial difference in the lives of
Ohio citizens. According to Chief Justice
Maureen O’Connor, “Lawyers have a
professional obligation to support access to
justice by providing pro bono legal services
to less fortunate Ohioans.”2 In an executive
summary of voluntary pro bono reporting
for 2013 issued by the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation, Ohio attorneys reported
more than 100,000 hours of pro bono
work in 2013, worth an estimated $136
million in legal services.3
Ohio’s major metropolitan bar associations
have been essential in this effort. Through
the work of their members and staff, these
associations have constructed various
successful programs and initiatives to help
underserved Ohioans gain access to the
justice they deserve.
Pro bono to help the homeless
and preserve the arts
The Cleveland Metro Bar Association’s
(CMBA) Justice for All Committee serves
as an umbrella program for pro bono legal
service. The committee promotes multiple
programs that offer volunteer opportunities
providing legal services to the Cleveland
community. “Our community outreach
and pro bono programs are done in close
collaboration with community partners so
we can pool our resources to better leverage
our programs to meet the legal needs of
those most vulnerable in our community,”
says Mary Groth, CMBA director of development and community programs.
One such program is the Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program, or CHLAP,
a partnership program between the CMBA
and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the
Homeless (NEOCH). Through CHLAP,
lawyers have devoted much time and
energy to Cleveland’s homeless community. Volunteers help individuals with legal
issues including driver’s license reinstatement, credit problems, criminal record
expungement, landlord-tenant problems,
public benefits and family law.4 Recently,
CHLAP has expanded efforts to serve
individuals involved in the criminal justice
system or returning from prison as they reenter the job market and the community.5
Also under the CMBA’s Justice for All
Committee is the Volunteer Lawyers for
the Arts program. The VLA invites artists
and art organizations in the Greater Cleveland area to submit an application for the
chance to receive free legal assistance. The
VLA also offers free law-related education
programs in partnership with local arts and
nonprofit organizations. Program topics include leasing, gallery agreements, sales, and
intellectual property. The VLA program’s
mission is “to advocate for a strong and
vibrant arts community.”6
Serving Ohio’s first responders
and their communities
Also contributing to the Ohio legal profession’s pro bono success is the Dayton Bar
Association, the first organization in the
state to partner with the national Wills for
Heroes Foundation to provide free wills
and other estate planning documents to
first responders such as firefighters, police
officers, paramedics, and corrections
and probation officers. The Dayton Bar
Association hosts quarterly events where
lawyers provide free legal services to the
community’s heroes. Since 2008, volunteer
lawyers have served more than 550 first
responders in Dayton.7 Ohio is one of 10
states that have adopted the Wills for Heroes program, which was founded in 2001
in response to the September 11 attacks.
Since then, Wills for Heroes has provided
over 7,000 free estate planning documents
to our nation’s first responders.8 Following
a Wills for Heroes event in Dayton, one
first responder said, “tonight will be the
first night in 20-plus years that I’ll go to
sleep knowing my family will be taken care
if anything happens to me.”
First responders are not the only people receiving free legal assistance in Dayton. The
Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers Project
(GDVLP), created in 1988, creates opportunities for lawyers to provide pro bono
legal services to individuals in the Dayton
area who may otherwise be unable to afford legal help. “Over the 20 years that the
GDVLP has been in existence, over 22,000
individuals have been served by the pro
bono legal services provided by attorneys
in the Greater Miami Valley,” says James
W. Kelleher.9 Located at the Dayton Bar
Association, the GDVLP has provided over
87,000 hours in civil cases in the Greater
Miami Valley, and serves as a complement
to the Legal Aid of Western Ohio.10
Pro bono in Ohio’s capital
Efforts are underway to increase pro
bono work in Central Ohio, as well. The
Columbus Bar Association (CBA) created
the “Just Take One” initiative in an effort
to encourage attorneys to make a difference
in their communities. The project reports
that 75 percent of low-income Ohioans do
not receive the legal help they need.11 Just
Take One proposes that one meeting, one
letter, one call or one piece of advice from
a lawyer can make a significant difference
to a low-income person in need of legal
help. Just Take One encourages Ohio attorneys to offer pro bono legal services to
12
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at least one individual or family annually.
Attorneys can accomplish this by participating in any of the Columbus Bar’s pro
bono programs: Columbus Bar Lawyers for
Justice, Columbus Bar Homeless Project,
Columbus Bar Military Assistance, and
Interfaith Legal Services.12
In addition to the Just Take One program,
the Columbus Bar Association’s Lawyers
for Justice Program also works with the
Franklin County Volunteer Guardian
Program—which assists nursing homes by
providing court-appointed guardians for
their residents—by providing volunteer
attorneys to advise the guardians. “The
Program provides those in need of legal
help with volunteer attorneys who work
without pay. The program offers help with
issues such as divorces, bankruptcies, and
real estate matters, among others. Sylvia, a
Toledo resident, turned to the Toledo Pro
Bono Legal Services Program for help with
her abusive relationship. Sylvia ended her
relationship with her abusive boyfriend
after he attempted to strangle her. But she
still needed help distancing herself from
him. Her pro bono attorney helped her
obtain a civil protection order to keep her
ex-boyfriend away. Sylvia says the Pro Bono
Legal Services Program gave her not only a
legal protection order, but also confidence.
The Supreme Court of Ohio presented several
aspirational ideals for Ohio lawyers, among
which is this commitment: To help provide the
pro bono representation that is necessary to
make our system of justice available to all, and
to support organizations that provide pro bono.
Ohio lawyers live this ideal, providing countless
hours of pro bono service to Ohioans in need.
-OSBA President Martin E. Mohler
Volunteer Guardianship Program has 26
volunteer attorneys and has referred 15
cases in 2014. As structured by the CBA,
each attorney take on at least two cases
per year,” explains She’lia Bolding, the
CBA pro bono coordinator. The attorneys
work with the guardians in their process
of becoming legal guardians for the elderly
wards. Volunteer attorneys must accept up
to two court appointments per year, with
each appointment requiring about 4-5
hours of pro bono service.13 Volunteer attorneys consult the volunteer guardians on
legal issues concerning the ward and also
work with guardians once the ward passes
away. This program has made a positive
impact on the low-income elderly community in Franklin County by helping them
gain access to guardians and a strong legal
support system.
Providing legal services to those in need
Also involved in the pro bono effort is the
Toledo Bar Association, which offers a
way for low-income individuals to obtain
legal services. The Pro Bono Legal Services
www.ohiobar.org
“Someone actually understood what I was
going through and got me what I needed
right away.”14
Law-firm and corporate
pro bono for the poor
In the Greater Cincinnati area, law firms
and large corporations alike contribute
their services to the Volunteer Lawyers for
the Poor Foundation, typically known as
the Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP). The
VLP was created over 30 years ago when
the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Bar Association
joined forces to support attorneys who wish
to provide pro bono services.15 Legal Aid
screens the clients served by VLP attorneys
and provides training to the volunteers.
VLP attorneys have provided aid to thousands of low income individuals in the past
30 years. In 2013 and 2014, corporations
General Electric and Proctor & Gamble, as
well as the law firms Montgomery Rennie
& Johnson, Taft Stettinus & Hollister, and
Frost Brown Todd, among others, contributed time and energy to clients referred by
the VLP and made a significant difference
in their lives through free legal support.
Ginny Conlan Whitman, a writer for the
Cincinnati Bar Association, states, “The
dynamic energy behind all of these efforts
has resulted in more and better legal service
to the individuals in our community who
need it the most.”16
Making an impact
While many people in Ohio still are unable
to afford legal assistance, our state’s metropolitan bar associations and legal professionals as a whole have made a substantial
positive impact on Ohio communities.
Each pro bono program has united those
seeking legal help with those able to give
it, and as each program continues its work,
more and more Ohioans can access the
legal services they deserve.
Author bio
Erin Killeen is a former
intern in the Publications
Department at the Ohio
State Bar Association.
Endnotes
1 Ison, J. (2014, September 22), “Legal help
shrinking for those in poverty.” Retrieved Nov.
11, 2014.
2 Chief Justice Maureen O. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov.
11, 2014.
3 Voluntary Pro Bono Reporting for Calendar
Year 2013 Executive Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved
Nov. 11, 2014.
4 Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program.
(n.d.). Retrieved Nov. 11, 2014.
5 Cleveland Homeless Legal Assistance Program.
6 Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. (n.d.). Retrieved
Nov. 11, 2014.
7 Wills For Heroes - Dayton Bar Association.
8 http://www.willsforheroes.org/history.htm
9 Greater Dayton Volunteer Lawyers. (n.d.).
Retrieved Nov. 11, 2014.
12 Just-Take-One. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov.11, 2014.
13 Guardian. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov. 11, 2014.
14 Pro Bono Legal Services Program - Toledo Bar
Association. (n.d.). Retrieved Nov. 11, 2014.
15 Whitman, G. (2014, Sept.1). “Volunteer Lawyers Project Helps Make the Legal System Fair
for Everyone.” CBA Report, 19-21.
16 Whitman, G. (2014, Sept. 1). “Volunteer
Lawyers Project Helps Make the Legal System
Fair for Everyone.” CBA Report, 19-21.
Ohio Lawyer
13
Member Spotlight Series
Joseph Cirigliano
by Nina Corbut
For more than 60 years, Lorain County’s own Joe Cirigliano has been an invaluable member of
Ohio’s legal profession. He sat down with Ohio Lawyer to talk about his community, his career
and his continuing passion for the law.
(This article is the first in a series of conversations profiling the lives, achievements
and legacies of some of the OSBA’s most
distinguished members. For more information on our Member Spotlight Series or
to suggest an OSBA member for possible
inclusion, please visit www.ohiobar.org/
memberspotlight.)
At 90 years old, Lorain County lawyer Joseph Cirigliano is still going strong. A wellmannered professional and a gentleman, Joe
is well-spoken and proud of his profession.
His past service to the bar includes time
spent on the Ohio State Bar Association
Board of Governors and the Ohio Lawyer
Board of Editors. He has also dedicated his
time to several other professional and civic
affiliations, including more than 32 years of
community service to the Lorain County
Community College.
In August, the Lorain County Community
College celebrated the lifelong generosity of
Joe and his wife, Beverly, with the dedication of the Judge Joseph and Beverly Cirigliano Studio Theatre. In an interview that
took place in the theater named after him,
Joe generously took the time to talk to the
OSBA about why he became an attorney,
his experience as an lawyer and a judge, his
friendship with Jack Nicklaus, and the key
to a long, fulfilled life.
14
Ohio Lawyer When did you know you
wanted to be an attorney?
My folks had come to America from Italy,
and they wanted to buy a piece of property.
I must’ve been five or six years old at the
time. A realtor called, and Mom and Pop
and I went to look at a house. My father
liked the house, and my mother fell in love
with the house. This was on a weekend, and
she told the realtor she would see her on
Monday. On Monday the realtor called and
said, “I’m sorry. I sold the house to someone
else.” My mother was very disappointed
and so was my dad and I said to myself,
“You know. That wasn’t right. Something
should be done about that. They’re taking
advantage of the foreigners that have just
come to this country. I’m going to try to do
something about that. I’m going to become
a lawyer.” And that was my path. From that
point on, that’s all I ever wanted to be.
All you needed was a proper
legal education. Where did
you go to school, and what
led you to the law?
Education was very big with Mom and
Dad. They always said to me “you have to
get an education.” They drilled that into me.
My dad used to say to me: “What they put
in your head nobody can take.”
I started at Baldwin-Wallace after high
school. World War II came along, and on
April 19, 1943, I dropped out of school and
went into the Marine Corps. On Dec. 26,
1945, I was discharged from the Marine
Corps and went back to Baldwin-Wallace. I
finished there, and in 1949, I went into law
school. I finished law school in 1952, and
I’ve been at it ever since.
You’ve been “at it” as a judge
for much of your professional life. How did you come
to serve on the bench, and
when/why did you stop?
I was elected to the Lorain County Common Pleas Court, and was re-elected six
years later. During the time that I was a
common pleas judge, Dick Celeste was the
governor. There was going to be a vacancy
in the Ninth District Court of Appeals,
headquartered in Akron. A magnificent human being and a great judge, Ed Mahoney
was going to retire. Some people decided I
would be a good replacement there. Eventually I was appointed by the governor to the
Ninth District Court of Appeals. After a
couple years, I had to run for re-election,
and I lost to a young lady named Debby
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Ohio Lawyer
15
Cook who in my opinion slaughtered me
in the election. After I left the Court of
Appeals, I started to do judging on a visiting
basis. The Chief Justice would appoint me
to various counties in the state of Ohio to
try certain cases, none of which were easy. I
did that until I was 82 years old.
“Beverly has been my
support. Whenever things
don’t go right, she is there
to help right the ship.”
After I left the judiciary, I went to work with
a law firm that I’m affiliated with, Wickens
Herzer Panza Cook and Batista. I did some
work with them before I went on the bench.
They are all good lawyers, and I have been
with them since.
You’re good friends with Jack
Nicklaus. How did you two
come to know one another?
I used to be a member of Muirfield Village
in Columbus. I met Jack there. His locker
was three down from mine. We got to be
acquaintances. His children went to a school
in Palm Beach called the Benjamin School,
which is a private school. He used to invite
members of Muirfield to Palm Beach to play
in a golf tournament to raise money for the
Benjamin School. One of my closest friends
was also a member there by the name of Art
Meyers. Art said to me “Why don’t we go?”
I said “how much?” And, well, it wasn’t inexpensive. Let’s put it that way. But we went
and we had the opportunity to play with
Jack Nicklaus, who’s an unbelievable human
being, really.
This tournament went on for years, and I
went every year and played with Jack, and
we got to be good friends. He’d have us
over for dinner with him and Barbara and
the kids, and occasionally we would go to
his house for breakfast. We developed a
good relationship.
Lorain County Community College came
up with the idea to have a golf tournament to raise money for the foundation. I
thought that was a great idea. I told them,
“Go ahead.” And they said, “Well we’d like
you to get somebody to come in,” and I said
“Ok, who do you want?” And they said,
“We want Jack Nicklaus.” I said, “You know
that is going to be a very, very heavy tab,”
and the school said “Well, we will pay it.”
I talked to Jack that night about having this
golf tournament for the Lorain County
Community College and during the course
of the conversation I told him that we
would pay his fee, whatever it was, his expenses, whatever it was. I told him we were
going to call it the Jack Nicklaus Scholarship
Fund. So he called me back in a couple of
weeks and told me he would do it. We ultimately had the tournament at Spring Valley
16
Ohio Lawyer Country Club, on a Wednesday, because
that was the only time he could do it.
He came up in his jet, and stayed at my
house the night before. Beverly fixed a nice
Italian dinner for him. And this is cute, I
think. His secretary called and told me that
Jack was on a diet and was supposed to be
watching what he eats. That didn’t mean
anything to me or my wife because she put
on this Italian feast, and, I swear, Jack went
through that feast like he’d never
eaten before.
We talked about a lot of things that night,
including the fee. He said “There’s no fee.
I’m doing this for the college. I have my
own jet, and you don’t have to pay any
expenses. Everything that you make will
go to the college.”
The next morning we put on a beautiful
event at Spring Valley, played a nice round
of golf with four people who each paid
$5,000 to play golf with Jack Nicklaus. He
was most gracious, signed autographs for
anybody and everybody, had his picture
taken with anyone who wanted a picture.
We’ve had the tournament every year now
for a long time.
We’ve had some of the best golfers in the
world come to the event, including Chi Chi
Rodriguez, Ken Venturi, Greg Norman, Jan
Stephenson, Phil Mickelson and a whole list
of others. The tournament has been a success, thanks to Jack. We are truly indebted
to him. He’s been a marvelous human being, not only for the college, but also for the
world in general. He and Barbara have done
wonderful things, and I’m sure much of the
world will never know about the wonderful
things they’ve done for their own community and other communities.
The Jack Nicklaus Scholarship Fund has
raised more than $1 million for Lorain
County Community College students,
which is not bad.
How honored were you
when the Lorain Community College named its new
theater after you and your
wife Beverly?
I am very honored that this school would
name part of its institution after us. I’m very
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proud of that. It’s an honor that will last as
long as this school will last, and I expect this
school will last a long, long time because
of what it’s doing in the community, what
it’s done in the community and what it will
do in the future. That’s an honor that’s over
my head. What I did and what I’ve done
for this college I will continue to do for this
college. This was the farthest thing from
my mind. I didn’t do it for honor. I did it
because I thought it should be done. I’m
a good citizen in the community. I think
any good citizen in this community should
support this institution for what it’s done for
the community. And am I pleased? Yes. My
ego says, gee, that’s a wonderful thing for me
and my wife because it’s named after the two
of us. It’s not just Joe Cirigliano. It’s “Joe and
Beverly Cirigliano,” and I’m proud of that.
I’m proud that the college recognizes her in
this manner too because, without her support, I wouldn’t be on the college board.
You recently turned 90 years
old. In your opinion, what’s
the key to living a long productive life?
Having a good family—a family that
believes in each other. A good relationship
with your friends. Friends play an important
part in a person’s life. And eventually of
course, a wife who you can rely on and who
supports you. Beverly and I will be married
53 years in December. She has always stuck
by me no matter what, and there have been
some challenges in my career as a judge.
There has been some publicity that wasn’t
favorable. Apparently, I’m a newsmaker.
And sometimes the news I make isn’t good.
But be that as it may, Beverly has been my
support. Whenever things don’t go right, she
is there to help right the ship.
a writer. He has a lot of talent. I wish I had
that talent because then I could do some
writing, but maybe I could dictate to him
and he could be my writer. We’ll see how
that goes in the future.
Speaking of the future, what’s
next for Joe Cirigliano?
I really have an obligation to this community and the people of this community.
This little Italian boy came from nothing.
This community has kind of embraced me,
and I really feel for this community. Lorain
County is a wonderful place to live and
we’ve gone through a hell of a lot because of
the recession and the change in the industry
of Ohio. So I’m here to do what I can to
help the community, and I’m here to do
what I can to help my profession. And I’m
proud of my profession.
I’ve enjoyed the practice of law. I think
the practice of law prepares you for most
anything at all. It’s a place where man can
do something for other people. The law is a
profession where lawyers can assist everybody else. It’s truly a remarkable profession
in that way.
Author bio
Nina Corbut is publications director for the Ohio
State Bar Association and
editor of Ohio Lawyer.
“I’m here to do what I can to
help the community, and I’m
here to do what I can to help
my profession.”
She has a favorite quote. Whenever I would
get a big head, she would say to me: “You
know, your initials may be JC, but you
cannot walk on water.” And that would immediately cut me down to where I deserved
to be. And I’ve never forgotten about that,
and neither has she. She still reminds me of
that on occasion.
I have a couple of children. I have a son
who is a college professor. I have a daughter
who is retired from American Airlines. And
I have a couple of grandkids. One of my
grandsons is working on a Ph.D. now. I
think he wants to be a forensic anthropologist. One of my other grandsons will have
his masters this year. He wants to be a writer
and a teacher. And I understand from his
teachers that he’s very well-suited to become
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Ohio Lawyer
17
Inside OSBA
Winter 2015 OSBA committee and
section meetings coming soon
Ohio State Bar Association members are invited to attend their
winter committee and section meetings. For a full schedule with locations, meeting times and dates for each OSBA committee and section meeting, visit www.ohiobar.org/wintermeetings. For additional
information, please contact Melissa Quick at [email protected]
or (614) 487-4411.
Section councils
seeking new members
Call for articles
Ohio Lawyer is seeking submissions
of feature articles and “Did You
Know,” “In My Opinion,” “Beyond the Courtroom,”
“Practice Tips” and other items for publication in
upcoming issues. Please see the Ohio Lawyer Editorial
Policy, located at www.ohiobar.org/editorialpolicy,
before submitting.
Several Ohio State Bar Association sections are seeking to fill
council vacancies. Each section is governed by a council, which
meets several times a year to discuss and implement programs and
events to further the work of the section and to serve its members.
Council members are appointed by the Association president upon
recommendation of the section council or by a member of the
Board of Governors.
If you are interested in being considered for an appointment to a
section council listed below or to learn more about the work of a
particular section, please send a note of interest and your résumé to
Melissa Quick, committee, section and certification services manager, at [email protected] by Jan. 13, 2015.
• Antitrust Law
• Corporate Counsel
• Intellectual Property Law
• Labor and Employment Law
• Litigation
• Real Property Law
• Senior Lawyers
• Solo, Small Firms and General Practice
• Young Lawyers
• Women in the Profession
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Ohio Lawyer
19
Is your case good law?
Don’t pay to find out.
Membership in the OSBA now includes free access to CaseCheck+,
Casemaker’s negative citator system that rivals Shepard’s® and KeyCite®.
Previously available only by subscription, Casecheck+ allows you to quickly
determine if your case is good law.
Not a member? What are you waiting for? Access to CaseCheck+ alone pays
for your membership dues.
ohiobar.org/casemaker
ohio state bar
asso ciation
20
Casemaker
®
T H E LEADER IN LEGAL RESEAR C H ™
www.ohiobar.org
Foundation News
OSBF honors excellence in the profession
systematically changing Ohio’s sex trade laws and practices, AO
helps victims escape their traffickers, navigate a complex legal
system, and secure services to prepare for a new future. AO’s compassionate advocacy approach has become a recognized model for
providing a voice for victims often unseen and unheard.
Award recipients: Bruce Heary, Carter E. Strang, Megan Mattimoe and
Patrick J. Perotti
The Ohio State Bar Foundation held its Annual Meeting and
Awards Dinner Nov. 7 to honor those individuals and organizations whose deliberate good deeds reflect the integrity, ethics, and
service of all legal professionals.
The Community Service Award for Attorneys 40 and Under
Lopez’s classic work-Rebellious Lawyering-changed the way Angela Wu approached law. Returning to her hometown of Oberlin
after law school, she established Oberlin Street Law, a nonprofit
that engaged high school and college students in solving community problems. Creating projects to address issues of race, class,
and crime within the community, she taught students that those
who have great talents and resources must focus their efforts on
those who don’t. She also took “street law philosophy” into classes
she taught at both Oberlin College and her former high school,
stressing the law’s obligation to change the human condition.
President Stephen
F. Tilson, Tom Wu
accepting award on
behalf of Angela Wu
and OSBF Trustee C.
Lynne Day
Ritter Award
Patrick J. Perotti, partner at Dworken & Bernstein, received the
Foundation’s highest honor. As a class action litigator, Perotti settles
cases using cy pres so that unclaimed money isn’t returned to the
wrongdoer. Instead, he has channeled over $25 million dollars to
Ohio charities doing vital community service. Perotti states, “We,
as lawyers, should use our talents to do what is good for all of us.”
His organization-Ohio Lawyers Give Back-continues to spearhead
greater use of cy pres to provide more hope to those in need.
The Ramey Award for Distinguished Community Service
Carter E. Strang, as a litigator with Tucker Ellis, lessens the divide
between what needs to be done and what actually is. As president
of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar in 2012-13, he created the
Louis Stokes Scholars Program, a diversity pipeline program that
connects the legal community with underrepresented minorities and low income students in long-term mentorships. He also
co-authored the curriculum for the Cleveland Bar’s award winning
3Rs program for law-based public school classroom instruction.
Being actively involved with the mock trial program, Cleveland’s
Citizens Legal Academy, and the Cleveland Bar’s Green Initiative,
Strang continues to make a difference for others.
When you honor, celebrate or recognize the significant
people in your life with a tax-deductible gift to the OSBF,
you support outreach, education and justice. 100%
of your tribute gift supports statewide OSBF grants.
Dedicate your gift today at OSBF.net “Donate Now”
or call (614) 487-4477.
IN HONOR OF
IN MEMORY OF
Outstanding Program Award
Cleveland’s Louis Stokes Scholars Program engages underrepresented minorities to consider law as a profession. The Cleveland
Metropolitan Bar provides minority college students with summer
internships, program activities, and on-going support in college
and in law school. This past summer 17 college students joined
the third class of Stokes Scholars as the program continues to fulfill
its goal of “Changing Lives, One Student at a Time.”
OSBF President Stephen F.
Tilson
Velda K. Hofacker
Louis E. Tracy
David A. Ward
Eileen Pruett
Outstanding Organization Award
AO: Advocating Opportunity is an outreach program guiding
youth victims of human trafficking through the arduous process of
prosecuting their traffickers while training attorneys, law enforcement, and other professionals on human trafficking issues. By
Angela Wu
Judge and Mrs. James Miraldi
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HONOR. REMEMBER. CELEBRATE.
Denny L. Ramey
Hon. William H. Harsha
Carole S. Dougherty
Ronald W. Dougherty
William K. Weisenberg
John A. Carnahan
Loretta Weisensell
Carmen V. Roberto
Ohio Lawyer
21
Did You Know?
Uninsured/underinsured motorist
coverage is critical protection
by Mark Kitrick and Sean Harris
Purchasing uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UDM)
coverage is a critical way to protect loved ones and yourself. It
applies when you or a family member are a driver, a passenger in
your or another car, or on a bicycle, or even walking as a pedestrian and if you or a family member are hurt or killed by another
motor vehicle. If the person causing the incident either has no
insurance or inadequate insurance, then you need UM/UDM
coverage through your own automobile carrier.
What amounts should you purchase?
It is highly advisable that you purchase UM/UDM coverage in at
least the same amounts as your liability coverage. Liability coverage applies if you or a family member are at fault (liable) and
cause harm or damages to others. At one time, insurance agents
were required to offer UM/UDM coverage in the same amounts
as your liability coverage; and if you rejected it or chose lesser
amounts, then the rejection or reduction had to be in writing.
22
In other words, the agent needed to inform the client so that the
client armed with this knowledge could better decide what to do.
Those days are gone. An agent generally does not need to educate
a client in this manner. Consequently, many consumers do not
even know what this coverage is.
Know the actual amounts
Second, many people believe they have “full coverage” but do not
know the actual amounts. Full coverage can be akin to wearing
shorts and a T-shirt versus donning full body armor. Unfortunately, in rural areas, for example, over 15-20 percent of drivers have
no insurance and many others have no more than Ohio’s minimum liability coverage which is now $25,000-$50,000. What is
the right coverage given these realties?
To illustrate, let us assume you have purchased 100/300 in liability and 100/300 UM coverage, and you are hurt by an under-
www.ohiobar.org
insured motorist who only has Ohio’s minimum coverage.
If you have $50,000 in owed medical bills (to providers or
to your health insurance company that wants its money
back-this is called “subrogation”), have a significant injury,
and you evaluate your claim at least at $100,000, the most
you can obtain from the defendant is $25,000. That means
you have to make a UDM claim for the $75,000 difference.
What is important to understand is you cannot “stack” your
UM coverage on top of the defendant’s $100,000 (per person) to get $125,000.
Total coverage
We strongly urge purchasing umbrella coverage for both
liability and UM/UDM coverage. This is another layer
of coverage above and beyond your underlying coverage.
To illustrate, if someone has $300,000-$500,000 in UM/
UDM coverage and is hurt badly or killed by a drunk driver
with little or no insurance, one can made a claim for the
$300,000—this is the per person limit—and then the umbrella exists to provide an additional $1 million in coverage,
meaning there is a total of $1.3 million available for a single
person. An umbrella opens at $1 million.
Author bios
Mark Kitrick is the senior partner with
Kitrick, Lewis & Harris Co., L.P.A. in
Columbus. Over the last 33 years Mark
has handled complex injury and death
cases, aviation crashes and consumer class
actions. He is past president of the Ohio
Association for Justice and the Central
Ohio Association for Justice, and he is
Budget Chair for AAJ, formerly ATLA. Mark
is a long-time member of the OSBA and
serves on the OSBF Grant Committee.
Sean Harris is a partner with Kitrick, Lewis,
& Harris, Co. LPA in Columbus, where he
practices in the areas of wrongful death,
product liability and personal injury. He
grew up in Maumee, Ohio. He attended
Ohio Wesleyan University and The Ohio
State University College of Law. Sean
currently serves as president of the Central
Ohio Association for justice.
There can be several negative concerns. Many insurance
companies offer umbrella coverage for liability coverage, but
a few, like State Farm, no longer offer an umbrella for UM/
UDM coverage. Also, if you are riding in a Car2Go or a similar vehicle that is considered a “shared auto,” you will have
limited liability coverage and minimum UM coverage (in
Ohio) through that auto’s coverage, and most importantly
and surprisingly, your UM/UDM policy likely will not protect you at all because coverage here is excluded.
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• Do I have adequate liability coverage? If not, do I have
personal exposure? Said differently, can someone come
after my assets and income because I did not purchase
sufficient insurance?
• Do I have UM/UDM coverage and, if so, how much
do I have and should I increase the amounts? Reviewing
with your agent your combined family incomes, assets,
your budget and other needs and concerns should allow
you to engage in excellent decision making. Remember,
the UM/UDM limits should be equal to your liability
coverage.
• Do I have umbrella coverage? Is it for liability and UM/
UDM coverage? You need both. Are the amounts sufficient? You should assume over time that you or a
family member are severely injured by someone with
no car insurance and thus you or they cannot earn an
income, or are disabled, or need part or full time care.
In other words, assume that your life is no longer as it
was. You want the umbrella to compensate you for all
losses including major future medical care and pain and
suffering.
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Ohio Lawyer
23
Counsel Comments
Potpourri
by Eugene P. Whetzel
While illegal—or formerly illegal—drugs are not on my list of
interests, several recent opinions from other states have illustrated
some of the issues that may arise if Ohio legalizes marijuana use.
More than 20 states have authorized the use of marijuana for
medical purposes and some have, under state law, decriminalized
its use for recreational purposes. Ohio, of course, is not one of
these states.
crime. However, even if lawful, such use does not absolve the lawyer from the duty of providing competent representation.
A different result, however, was reached concerning Colorado
judges. The Colorado Supreme Court’s Judicial Ethics Advisory
Board found that Rule 1.1 (a judge will comply with the law)
prohibits a judge from using marijuana for either medicinal or
recreational purposes.
Colorado is one of the states that permits both recreational and
medicinal use of marijuana. One issue presented by this action was
how lawyers should counsel marijuana industry clients. Colorado’s
approach was to approve a comment to Rule 1.2 clarifying that the
lawyer may advise the client on state law, provided that the lawyer
also advises the client on related federal law and policy.
North Dakota
Marijuana use has not been legalized in North Dakota, and the
North Dakota State Bar Association Ethics Committee recently
addressed the issue of a North Dakota lawyer using medical marijuana in a state, specifically Minnesota, where such use is lawful.
The committee opined that use of marijuana in a state where it is
legal nonetheless contravenes North Dakota Rule 8.4. The analysis
was relatively straightforward. Purchase, possession, or ingestion of
marijuana in Minnesota constitutes a violation of federal law and
the attorney would be engaging in a pattern of repeated offenses
indicating an indifference to legal obligations.
Colorado
In 2013, the Colorado Bar ethics committee concluded that a
lawyer’s recreational use of marijuana does not necessarily violate
Rule 8.4(b), despite the fact that such use may constitute a federal
24
www.ohiobar.org
To paraphrase a familiar advertisement, what happens in Minnesota, at least for North Dakota, does not stay in Minnesota.
Scams
Although I have commented on this before, a recent case out of
North Carolina led me to at least briefly revisit the topic.1
Ms. Mako was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1988. She
was responsible for the management of her firm’s trust account.
In 2011, the firm received an email from “Oliver Burkeman”
soliciting representation in collecting a $350,000 settlement from
a former employer. Shortly after undertaking the representation,
the firm received a “cashier’s check” for $175,000 from the supposed former employer. The check was deposited in the firm’s trust
account, and the next day $35,000 was paid to the firm’s operating
account and $140,000 wired to an overseas account.
On July 14, 2011, a second “check” for $175,000 was received
and the same disbursement procedures followed, except that the
$35,000 was distributed to Ms. Mako. On July 18, the first check
was returned unpaid. Fortunately, the first $140,000 transfer did
not go through. Unfortunately, the second did, along with the
$70,000 to the firm and Ms. Mako.
Mako repaid $35,000 to the firm, leaving a deficit of $175,000
in the trust account. Mako closed her office in May 2013 and returned to Costa Rica. The opinion notes that Ms. Mako had other
serious problems, but giving away $175,000 of her legitimate
clients’ money topped the list. She was disbarred.
Be careful what you say
Clients almost universally want their lawyer’s “take” on two things:
how likely it is that they will win and how much they will receive.
In Burds v. Hipes, a client was unable to interest any lawyers in
representing him on a contingent fee basis.2 So, he retained Jeanne
Hipes on an hourly fee basis.3 The client asked Ms. Hipes for a
“preliminary opinion” to provide him with a “clear understanding
of the value of the case.” The lawyer provided it. The result was
probably predictable, and the client sued the lawyer for, among
other things, fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary
duty. Ultimately, the client’s suit was dismissed and the dismissal
was upheld by the court of appeals.
However, this outcome was not foreordained. If a client seeks a
preliminary opinion, assure that it is just that-an opinion. For
example, Ms. Hipes couched her opinion with numerous qualifications that highlighted the extent of the uncertainty of her preliminary opinion. Finally, in my view, at least, if the lawyer believes
that the case is unwinnable, decline the representation.
• The engagement letter should be about more than fees and
billing. One nagging issue is closed client files. Address their
disposition in the engagement letter. The files are the client’s
property and 40 years from now it would probably be good if he
didn’t have to call my successor to ask what he should do with
client files from 2015.
• Ask your client to inform you in writing if there might be any
insurance to cover a claim.
• Arrange for a surrogate to protect your clients in case you are
injured or disabled.
Clearly, these ideas are far from exhaustive and there is much more
and better guidance that he will receive from the volunteer leaders.
Service to others
The law was never a simple profession, and it is becoming increasingly complex. These tidbits simply illustrate the need for vigilance
in all of our legal endeavors.
Eugene P. Whetzel is the general counsel for the Ohio State
Bar Association.
Endnotes
1 The North Carolina State Bar v. Sue E. Mako (13DHC33, July 2014).
2 No. A14A1366 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, Third Division, Sept. 23,
2014).
3 At trial, the client argued that Ms. Hipes knew the case could not succeed
and should not have taken it on an hourly-fee basis.
OHIO CHAPTER
Check preferred available dates or
schedule appointments online
directly with Ohio’s top-rated neutrals
This service is free, funded by our Ohio members
Young lawyers
I recently had a very pleasant meeting with a young lawyer interested in starting his own practice. Below are some of the ideas we
discussed. Fortunately, there are OSBA volunteer leaders who were
willing to share their expertise and experience with him, so he was
able to receive more germane guidance than I was able to provide.
I did suggest several of the following ideas to him:
• Review OfficeKeeper.
• Engage in committee and section work.
• It is okay to decline to represent someone.
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Ohio Lawyer
25
Books & Bytes
Connect, advance and
succeed with ohiobar.org
Check out the Ohio State Bar Association’s new mobile-friendly
website! Now you can view the OSBA site anywhere (on your
desktop, tablet or phone) to connect to the resources that advance
your career. Members can log in today to:
Expand your practice knowledge
• Conduct legal research;
• Get practice tips from a library of practice tools;
• Stay current on cases and statutory changes in your practice
areas; and
• Take online CLE courses.
Expand your network and influence
• Look for jobs;
• Connect with other members;
• Join discussions with other legal professionals; and
• Get involved with current OSBA legislative efforts.
Please note that you will need to enter your log-in credentials once
you enter a member-only area of the site. For help, please visit the
Login Help page, or call the OSBA Member Service Center at
(800) 232-7124 or (614) 487-8585.
Let us know what you think. Your feedback helps us determine
how to best present our members with useful information that
contributes to their personal and professional advancement. Send
us an email at [email protected].
Compiled by Andrew Hartzell
On ThewithBooks
Todd Book
The On The Books video
series focuses on the latest
legislative news from the
VIDEO SERIES
Ohio Statehouse, brought
to you by OSBA Director
of Policy and Government
Affairs Todd Book.
ohiobar.org/onthebooks
@OSBA
facebook.com/ohiobar
youtube.com/ohiobar
.
26
www.ohiobar.org
Member News
Chardon
In Memoriam
Judge Timothy J. Grendell was elected to the Ohio Association
of Probate Judges Executive Committee.
Stephen Cohen, 80
Cincinnati
Jan. 25, 2013
Wayne M. Leatherman, 91
Perrysburg
April 26, 2013
Ronald K. Bennington, 77
Canton
Aug. 12, 2013
William D. Kloss, 82
Upper Arlington Nov. 22, 2013
Stanley B. Wiener, 85
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Robert (Bob) Buechner has co-founded Champions for Urban
Youth, a partnership with Cincinnati Youth Collaborative.
2013
Dec. 28, 2013
2014
Judge Lynn B. Griffith Jr., 86 Warren
March 9, 2014
Jack Supman, 93
Lancaster
March 24, 2014
Forrest H. Bacon, 89
Upper Sandusky May 10, 2014
James R. Greene III, 55
Dayton
May 28, 2014
Richard Fry, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, has been
elected to the Board of Directors Marketing Committee of the
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Western Reserve.
Ester Delores Harber, 66
Columbus
May 31, 2014
Geoffrey M. Miller, 38
Cincinnati
June 4, 2014
Carter Strang, Tucker Ellis LLP partner, has been named to the
Board of Directors of the Center for Community Solutions and
received the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Kent
State University Alumni Association.
Charles R. Finney, 91
Kettering
June 6, 2014
Louis S. Nyerges, 90
Cleveland
Aug. 19, 2014
Joseph R. Prohaska, 84
Columbus
Sept. 7, 2014
Edward I. Gold, 87
Pasadena, CA
Sept. 15, 2014
William F. Denkewalter, 45
Urbana
Sept. 17, 2014
David C. Levine, 85
Cleveland
Oct. 10, 2014
Jonathan K. Miller, 57
Upper Sandusky Oct. 12, 2014
Robert R. Melnick, 58
Youngstown
Richard O. Harris, 88
Mechanicsburg Oct. 27, 2014
Thomas E. Norpell, 94
Newark
Oct. 27, 2014
Albert J. Rhoa, 90
Cleveland
Nov. 9, 2014
Cleveland
Keith Ashmus, Frantz Ward, is a finalist for the National Small
Business Association 2014 Lewis Shattuck Small Business Advocate of the Year Award.
Melinda Smith Yeargin, Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs,
has been elected to the Mature Services Board of Directors.
Columbus
Stephen Chappelear has been named the new president of The
Ohio State University Men’s Varsity “O”Alumni Association.
Jane Higgins Marx, Carlile Patchen & Murphy, has been appointed to the newly created Franklin County Guardianship
Service Board.
www.ohiobar.org
Oct. 19, 2014
Ohio Lawyer
27
Member Benefits
Get the most out of your OSBA membership
Your membership at the Ohio State Bar Association connects you to Ohio’s largest network of legal professionals and resources. Our
mission is to provide you with the services and experiences that advance you toward your personal and professional goals, and help
you succeed on your own terms. The OSBA can help you:
• Prepare your next brief with Casemaker®, our free-to-members online legal research tool;
• Take advantage of member discounts on our wide variety of CLE programs designed to fit your particular needs and schedule;
• Ease stress on your practice and your wallet with our vendor discount programs;
• Stay current on cases, statutory changes and emerging legal trends with publications such as the Ohio State Bar Association
Report, Ohio Lawyer and section newsletters;
• Get practice tips from a library of practice tools whenever you need them on our mobile-friendly website;
• Stand out from the crowd with specialty certification and the OSBA Bar College; and
• Expand your network and influence with our committees, sections and government affairs program.
By taking advantage of just a few of these services each year, you will realize the full value of your annual membership.
To see all of the services and programs we offer, visit our website at www.ohiobar.org or call our dedicated Member Service Center
at (800) 232-7124 or (614) 487-8585.
Thank you for your membership.
Connect. Advance. Succeed.
28
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CLE Calendar
To register or for more information, call (800) 232-7124 or
(614) 487-8585 or visit our website at www.ohiobar.org.
Discipline Problems
OVI Defense Update
Current Issues Under the Ohio Trust Code
Contract Drafting
VIDEO REPLAY (A.M. Program)
3.5 CLE Credit Hours
Registration: 8 a.m. | Program: 8:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
1/07 – Columbus: OSBA
1/08 – Akron: John S. Knight Center
1/14 – Cleveland: Cleveland Metro Bar Assn.
1/21 – Perrysburg: Hilton Garden Inn
1/22 – Fairfield: Receptions Conf. Ctr. North
VIDEO REPLAY (P.M. Program)
3.0 CLE Credit Hours | Registration: 12:30 p.m.
Program: 1 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Last Chance Video Theater
Registration: 8 a.m. | Program: 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
VIDEO REPLAY
Live via Simulcast:
Cleveland (Cleve. Metro Bar Assn.), Fairfield
Legislative Process
Live via Simulcast:
Akron, Cleveland (Cleve. Metro Bar Assn.), Fairfield
Insurance Staff Counsel
Registration: 9:30 a.m. | Program: 10 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Bankruptcy Fundamentals
Supreme Court Year in Review
Affordable Health Care Act 2015
Ohio Elder Law Institute – NEW LOCATION
VIDEO REPLAY
(A.M. Program)
3.0 CLE Credit Hour
Registration: 8 a.m. | Program: 8:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Nuts and Bolts of Wills and Trusts
VIDEO REPLAY
6.0 CLE/NLT Credit Hours
Live via Simulcast:
Akron, Cleveland (Cleveland Metro Bar Assn.), Perrysburg, Fairfield
VIDEO REPLAY
6.0 CLE/NLT Credit Hours
(2-day program)
12.0 Total CLE Credit Hours
3/19 and 3/20 –Doubletree Columbus-Worthington
Day 1: Registration: 8 a.m.
Program: 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Day 2: Registration: 8 a.m.
Program: 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Veteran’s Benefits
NOTE: Beginning in 2015, unless identified otherwise, the OSBA CLE seminars in Cleveland will be held at the Cleveland Metro Bar
Association at 1375 E. 9th St., #2, Cleveland, OH 44114.
www.ohiobar.org
Ohio Lawyer
29
Connect with the state’s largest network of legal professionals and resources. Renew your
Ohio State Bar Association membership for 2015.
The OSBA offers resources that help you succeed at every stage of your legal career—from
your first day on the job to the day you retire and close your practice.
Join or renew today at ohiobar.org!

Ohio Lawyer - Ohio State Bar Association

Transcription

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