Attorney Ian Friedman has secured a new victory in the Ohio Supreme Court on behalf of one his clients. In the case of Attorney B.L.A., who faced a wide range of potential sanctions, including permanent disbarment, the Ohio Supreme Court adopted the resolution recommended by the parties: one-year suspension with six months stayed. Attorney Friedman told Law.com that he was pleased with the decision and confident that his clients' inappropriate behavior was behind him. "I’m confident in saying it’s an aberrant instance," Attorney Friedman said. "This happened some time ago."
Case Background
According to ABA Journal, B.L.A. was fired from his law firm in August 2013. Following that firing, he wrote to the firm founder asking for a letter of recommendation. When the founder didn't respond, B.L.A. wrote back threatening to contact the firm's clients to "bad mouth" the founder and "try and steal them away or to terminate the services of the firm."
When the firm's founder rebuffed the threat, B.L.A. used his old login credentials to log into the firm's email system and delete the threatening emails and the others he had sent following his firing. While he initially denied deleting the emails, he later admitted to doing so in a disciplinary hearing.
While B.L.A.'s actions were inappropriate, Attorney Friedman made sure that the court was aware that he had no prior record of discipline. In the end, the Ohio Supreme Court agreed that serious sanctions weren't appropriate and instead provided the recommended one-year suspension.
We congratulate Attorney Friedman on this victory and know that he will continue to provide effective and adamant advocacy to his clients—even when he has to face the higher courts to do so.
If you or a loved one has been accused of a serious crime, then Friedman Nemecek Long & Grant, L.L.C., L.L.C. is ready to hear from you. Our dedicated and sought-after Ohio criminal defense lawyers have built their reputation on providing dynamic and hard-hitting defense both in and outside the courtroom.
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