Ohio Gov.Bar R. VIII

Section 1. Establishment of Fund.

(A) There shall be a Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection of the Supreme Court of Ohio

consisting of amounts transferred to the fund pursuant to this rule and any other funds received in

pursuance of the fund’s objectives. The purpose of the fund is to aid in ameliorating the losses

caused to clients and others by defalcating members of the bar acting as attorney or fiduciary, and

this rule shall be liberally construed to effectuate that purpose. No claimant or other person shall

have any legal interest in the fund or right to receive any portion of the fund, except for

discretionary disbursements directed by the Board o f Commissioners of the Lawyers’ Fund for

Client Protection of the Supreme Court of Ohio, all payments from the fund being a matter of grace

and not right.

(B) The Supreme Court shall provide appropriate and necessary funding for the support

of the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection from the Attorney Services Fund. The director of fiscal

resources of the Supreme Court of Ohio shall transfer funds to the Lawyer s’ Fund for Client

Protection at the direction of the Court.

Section 2. Board of Commissioners of the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection of

the Supreme Court of Ohio; Director; Chair.

(A) Creation; Members. There is hereby created a Board of Commissioners of the

Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection of the Supreme Court of Ohio consisting of seven members

appointed by the Supreme Court, at least one of whom shall be a person not admitted to the practice

of law in Ohio or any other state. The Court shall designate one member as chair and one member

as vice-chair, who shall hold such office for the length of their term. All terms shall be for a period

of three years commencing on the first day of January. No member shall serve more than two

consecutive three-year terms. The Board shall have its principal office in Columbus.

(B) Director. There shall be a Director of the Board of Commissioners of the Lawyers’

Fund for Client Protection. The Court shall appoint and fix the salary of the Director. The Director

shall be an attorney admitted to practice in Ohio and shall not engage in the private practice of law

while serving in that capacity. The Director shall be the secretary to the Board. The Director shall

appoint, with the approval of the Court, staff as required to satisfactorily perform the duties

imposed by this rule. The Court shall fix the compensation of staff employed by the Director.

(C) Powers of the Board. The Board shall do all of the following:

(1) Investigate applications by claimants for disbursement from the fund;

(2) Conduct hearings relative to claims;

(3) Authorize and establish the amount of disbursements from the fund in accordance

with this rule;

(4) Adopt rules of procedure and prescribe forms not inconsistent with this rule.

(D) Powers of the chair.

(1) The chair of the Board shall be the trustee of the fund and shall hold, manage,

disburse, and invest the fund, or any portion of the fund, in a manner consistent with the effective

administration of this rule. All investments shall be made by the chair up on the approval of a

majority of the Board. Investments shall be limited to short-term insured obligations of the United

States government, deposits at interest in federally insured banks or federally insured savings and

loan institutions located in the state of Ohio, and in no-front-end-load money market mutual funds

consisting exclusively of direct obligations of the United States Treasury, and repurchase

agreements relating to direct Treasury obligations, with the interest or other income on investments

becoming part of the fund. Annually and at additional times as the Supreme Court may order, the

chair shall file with the Supreme Court a written report reviewing in detail the administration of

the fund during the year. The fund shall be audited biennially by the Auditor of State at the same

time as the Supreme Court’s regular biennial audit. The Supreme Court may order an additional

audit at any time, certified by a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Ohio. Audit

reports shall be filed with the Board, which shall send a copy to the Supreme Court. The report

shall be open to public inspection at the offices of the Board.

(2) The chair and vice-chair of the Board shall file a bond annually with the Supreme

Court in an amount fixed by the Supreme Court.

(3) The chair of the Board shall have the power and duty to render decisions on

procedural matters presented by the Board and call additional meetings of the Board when

necessary.

(4) The vice-chair of the Board shall exercise the duties of the chair during any absence

or incapacity of the chair.

(E) Meetings. The Board shall meet at least two times a year and at other times as the

chair designates.

(F) Attendance. The director of the Board shall notify the Chief Justice and the

Administrative Director of the Supreme Court if a commissioner misses three meetings of the

Board within a twelve-month period. Upon such notice, the Administrative Director shall inform

the Justices of the Supreme Court in order that the Justices may consider the replacement of the

commissioner.

(G) Expenses. Expenses for the operation of the Board as authorized by this rule shall

be paid from the fund, including bond premiums, the cost of audits, personnel, office space,

supplies, equipment, travel, and other expenses of Board members.

Section 3. Eligible Claims.

For purposes of this rule, an eligible claim shall be one for the reimbursement of losses of

money, property, or other things of value that meet all of the following requirements:

(A) The loss was caused by the dishonest conduct of an attorney admitted to the practice

of law in Ohio when acting in any of the following capacities:

(1) As an attorney;

(2) In a fiduciary capacity customary to the practice of law;

(3) As an escrow agent or other fiduciary, having been designated as an escrow agent

of fiduciary by a client in the matter or a court of this state in which the loss arose or having been

selected as a result of a client-attorney relationship.

(B) The conduct was engaged in while the attorney was admitted to the practice of law

in Ohio and acting in his capacity as an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Ohio, or in any

capacity described in division (A) of this section.

(C) On or after the effective date of this rule, the attorney been disbarred, suspended,

or publicly reprimanded, has resigned, or has been convicted of embezzlement or misappropriation

of money or other property and the claim is presented within five years of the occurrence or

discovery of the applicable event. The taking of any affirmative action by the claimant against the

attorney within the five-year period shall toll the time for filing a claim under this rule until the

termination of that proceeding. In the event disciplinary or criminal proceedings, or both, cannot

be prosecuted because the attorney cannot be located or is deceased, the Board may consider a

timely application if the claimant has complied with the other conditions of this rule.

(D) The claim is not covered by any insurance or by any fidelity or similar bond or

fund, whether of the attorney, claimant, or otherwise.

(E) The claim is made directly by or on behalf of the injured client or his personal

representative or, if a corporation, by or on behalf of itself or its successors in interest.

(F) The loss was not incurred by any of the following:

(1) The spouse, children, parents, grandparents or siblings, partner, associate,

employee, or employer of the attorney, or a business entity controlled by the attorney. The Board

may, in its discretion, recognize such a claim in cases of extreme hardship or s pecial or unusual

circumstances.

(2) An insurer, surety or bonding agency or company, or any entity controlled by any

of the foregoing;

(3) Any governmental unit.

(G) A payment from the fund, by way of subrogation or otherwise, will not benefit any

entity specified in division (F) of this section.

Section 4. Dishonest Conduct.

For purposes of this rule, dishonest conduct consists of wrongful acts or omissions by an

attorney in the nature of defalcation or embezzlement of money, or the wrongful taking or

conversion of money, property, or other things of value.

Section 5. Maximum Recovery.

The Board shall determine the maximum amount of reimbursement to be awarded to a

claimant. No reimbursement shall exceed one hundred thousand dollars.

Section 6. Conditions of Payment; Attorney Fees.

(A) As a condition to payment, the claimant shall execute any interest, take any action,

or enter into any agreements as the Board requires, including assignments, subrogation

agreements, trust agreements, and promises to cooperate with the Board in prosecutin g claims or

charges against any person. Any amounts recovered by the Board through an action shall be

deposited with the fund.

(B) No attorney fees may be paid from the proceeds of a reimbursement made to a

claimant. The Board may allow an award of attorney fees to be paid out of the fund if it determines

that the attorney's services were necessary to prosecute a claim under this rule and upon other

conditions as the Board may direct.

Section 7. Claims Procedure.

(A) Forms. The Board shall provide forms for the presentation of claims to

Disciplinary Counsel, all bar associations, and to any other person upon request. The Board shall

create an application form for the use of claimants that shall include, but not be limited to the name

and address of the claimant, the name and last known address of the attorney against whom the

claim is made, the date of the alleged wrongful act, a clear and simple statement describing the

wrongful act, the amount of the claimed loss, and a statement as to whether other affirmative action

has been taken as described in Section 3(C) of this rule. A claim shall be considered as filed on

the date the Board receives written notification of the claim, even in the absence of the prescribed

form. However, completion of the formal application may subsequently be required by the Board.

(B) Notice. Upon receipt of a claim against an attorney, the Director of the Board shall

notify the attorney of the fact of its filing by certified mail or email to the service email address

provided by the attorney. All parties shall be notified of any action taken by the Board with respect

to a claim.

(C) Investigation; Cooperation with Disciplinary Counsel and Local Bar

Associations.

(1) The Board shall investigate or cause to be investigated all claims received under

this rule.

(2) At the request of the Board, Disciplinary Counsel and local bar associations

authorized to investigate attorney discipline complaints under Gov. Bar R. V shall make available

to the Board all reports of investigations and records of formal proceedings in their possession

with respect to any attorney whose conduct is alleged to amount to dishonest conduct under this

rule. Where the information sought is the subject of a pending investigation or disciplinary

proceeding required by Gov. Bar R. V to be confidential, disclosure shall not be required until the

termination of the investigation or disciplinary proceeding, or both.

(3) Where the Board receives a claim that is ineligible because disciplinary proceedings

have not been undertaken, the Board shall hold the claim in abeyance, forward a copy of the claim

to Disciplinary Counsel for further action, and advise the claimant that these procedures have been

undertaken and that disciplinary action is a prerequisite to eligibility under this rule. If filed within

the time limits prescribed in Section 3(C) of the rule, the claim shall be considered timely

regardless of the time it is held in abeyance pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings.

Disciplinary Counsel shall advise the Board as to the disposition of the complaint.

(D) Hearings; Subpoenas.

The Board may conduct hearings for the purpose of resolving factual issues. Upon

determining that any person is a material witness to the determination of a claim made against the

fund, the Board, chair, or vice-chair shall have authority to issue a subp oena requiring the person

to appear and testify or produce records before the Board. All subpoenas shall be issued in the

name and under the Seal of the Supreme Court, signed by the chair, vice-chair, or Director, and

served as provided by law.

(E) Confidentiality.

All claims filed under this rule and all records obtained by the Board pursuant to this rule

shall be confidential. If a reimbursement is made under this rule, the reimbursement, the name of

the claimant, the name of the attorney, and the nature of the claim may be disclosed.

(F) Consideration of Claims.

The Board, in its sole discretion, but on the affirmative vote of at least four members, shall

determine the eligible claims that merit reimbursement from the fund and the amount, time,

manner, conditions, and order of payments of reimbursement. No reimbu rsement may include

interest from the date of the reimbursement. In making each determination, the Board shall

consider, among other factors set forth in this rule, all of the following:

(1) The amounts available and likely to become available to the fund for the payment

of claims and the size and number of claims that are likely to be presented;

(2) The amount of the claimant's loss as compared with the amount of losses sustained

by other eligible claimants;

(3) The degree of hardship suffered by the claimant as a result of the loss;

(4) The degree of negligence, if any, of the claimant that may have contributed to the

loss.

(5) Any special or unusual circumstances.

To preserve the fund, the board may adopt rules implementing a sliding scale whereby

eligible claims are compensable at fixed percentages of the total loss but not to exceed the

maximum reimbursement allowed by this rule.

The determination of the Board shall be final.