On the other hand the legal profession polices its own over the sacred "trust account."
August 22, 2008
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
Supreme Court of Ohio
250 Civic Center Drive, Suite 325
Columbus OH 43215-7411
Re: ODC File No. Ax-xxxx
Dear Ms. Stone:
This letter is in response to your letter of August 19, 2008. I will try to provide explanation of the overdraft with as much detail as possible.
My personal account at US Bank is ; my US Bank IOLTA trust account is .
I will always remember this check out of my IOLTA trust account: Check No. 2101 for $1594.79 made out to , my client.
I owed the client money back from a retainer and I was leaving on vacation in Canada July 22, 2008. I had misplaced my trust checkbook which got buried (I later found it 10 days ago) between stacks of discovery papers I was reviewing for a major upcoming piece of litigation. And had ordered and just received new checks from the bank. (This check is the first of the new checks.)
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
August 22, 2008
Page Two
J and S called me for legal advice in April 2008. Their address is Zig Zag Road, Cincinnati OH 45242 and cell phone number is 513- . I agreed to write a strong letter in his behalf against a Mr. L over an expensive motorcycle dispute, and I was paid a one-time fee of $300 to write this letter. (Exhibits A, B) This amount was properly deposited in my personal account, . (Id.)
Later in April Mr. asked me to pursue the case in court and wrote me a check for $2950 as a deposit for court costs and legal work to be done. This amount was properly placed in my trust account, . (Exhibit C)
The offending check is Exhibit D Dated July 22, 2008.
Subsequently, perforce, I performed legal work and some of the trust money was appropriately drawn down for such and filing fees and postage, duly reported to the clients. (Exhibit E)
On July 8th our legal agreement terminated and I returned the remainder of my client’s deposit (Id.) before my wife and I left for the 18-day vacation. Although I carefully determined the amount I owed back to Mr. I, forgot that the first $300 had not gone into the trust account. (See Exhibit K for the running account to the clients); next I wrote the entire amount out of the Trust Account. Therefore when I withdrew the $1594.79 to pay Mr. I back, there was a deficit in the Trust Account, as $300 of it should have come from my personal account, and $1294.79 from the trust account.
The bank did honor this check (Exhibit D) in spite of the overdraw, so there was no damage done to the client, as your document shows. Immediately upon my return to Cincinnati, I found in the mail the bank notice, called the bank and paid the bank for the overdraft plus $1.00, out of account --, to keep the trust account going.
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
August 22, 2008
Page Three
The bank waived any penalty upon seeing I had over $18,000 sitting there in my checking account. Enclosed you will find:
Exhibit A: bank statement of April 24, 2008, showing a $500 deposit into my personal checking account.
Exhibit B: my checkbook showing the breaking down of the original $500 deposit reflecting a payment from Mr. I of $300 and another client of $200
Exhibit C: IOLTA bank statement of April 30, 2008, showing deposit of $2950.00, dated April 28, 2008
Exhibit D: Copy of the subject $1594.79 check[1] to client from the trust account
Exhibit E: Copy of invoice for legal fees, certified mail and filing fees sent to client
Exhibit F: June 30, 2008, IOLTA statement, as required by your letter but not otherwise relevant
Exhibit G: July 31, 2008, IOLTA statement showing overdraft of $216.05
Exhibit H: August 21, 2008 partial month, personal account xxxx statement showing debit of $217.05 to cover the overdraft plus $1.00
Exhibit I: Bank Memo showing Transfer of $217.05 out of personal account but not showing the account to which it went
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
August 22, 2008
Page Four
Exhibit J: August 21, 2008, Fax specifically showing transfer of that same amount into the IOLTA account ---, on August 11, 2008
Exhibit K: Client ledger for the subject months April through July 2008, as required by your letter
I trust this paper trail will satisfy your inquiry into the overdraft of my IOLTA account caused by Check No. 2101.
Respectfully yours,
F. Bruce Abel
FBA:eh
Enclosures
[1] In viewing this check I note for the first time that the new checks I had ordered in early July for the trust account do not have “IOLTA” on them, and I have corrected this error of the bank.
F. BRUCE ABEL
970 Laurel Avenue Glendale OH 45246
513-772-1045
Fax: 513-772-7991
September 30, 2008
Karen H. Osmond, Esq.
Staff Attorney
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
Supreme Court of Ohio
250 Civic Center Drive, Suite 325
Columbus OH 43215-7411
Re: ODC File No. A8-2018
Dear Ms. Osmond:
This letter is in response to yours of September 18, 2008. I will try to provide explanation of the overdraft with as much detail as possible. After review I agree with your conclusion that the “xxxxx” matter did not cause the overdraft. Rather, it was the “xxxxxxxx” matter.
In February 2008 Mr. xxxxx xxxxxxxx came to me in great need of an attorney. He had been accused of sexually harassing a bartender at xxxxxxxxx on the Levy (Newport). The attorney from Florida for xxxxxxxxx had represented both xxxxxxxxx and Mr. xxxxxxxx. Belatedly the lawyer realized he had waived Mr. xxxxxxxx’s rights not to arbitrate. xxxxx needed his own attorney for the arbitration that was fairly well along.
I required of Mr. xxxxxxxx a $2500 deposit, against which I would debit my time. This amount was deposited in my US Bank IOLTA trust account 1-xxxx-xxxx (Exhibit A). As I put in the time @ $150/hour, I transferred the following to my personal account at US Bank (xxx-xxx-x):
Karen H. Osmond, Esq.
September 30, 2008
Page Two
2/25/08 $450 Check # 2095 3 hours Exhibit A
3/05/08 $450 # 2096 3 hours Exhibit B
5/09/08 $450 # 2100 3 hours Exhibit D
Two debits were made to cash:
3/05/08 $300 Check # 2097 2 hours Exhibit B
4/22/08 $300 #2098 2 hours Exhibit C
On May 9, 2008, I negotiated an agreement with xxxxxxxxx whereby they would reimburse us for all Mr. xxxxxxxx’s legal fees and expenses. On that date I anticipatorily refunded to him $1,000 (Check # 2101). (As it turns out, this was $450 more than was in his account. As can be seen, I had drawn down $1950, not $1500, and therefore there was a $450 shortfall to the trust account, which I have repaid from my personal account (Exhibit H)).
In August I had also deposited into my IOLTA account the $216.05 overcharge plus $1.00 (Exhibit H), the $1.00 to keep the account open. Friday I deposited $22.50 from my personal account into the IOLTA account to pay for the Check Printing ($23.50) minus the $1.00 “keep-account-open” charge.
To date I have yet to be reimbursed by xxxxxxxxx and have expended about five hours trying to get paid by xxxxxxxxx.
Why I deposited $1 more back to IOLTA:
You have asked about the extra $1.00? The bank said this was necessary to keep the account open.
Karen H. Osmond, Esq.
September 30, 2008
Page Three
Supporting documentation of the reimbursement for the July 21, 2008, check printing charge.
As Exhibit G shows, the check printing charge was made to this account automatically by the bank. After reviewing Rule 1.15,
discussed infra, I realize this should not be a charge to the trust. As stated supra, I added $23.50 to the trust Friday, September 26th, from my personal account.
Confirmation that I have read Rule 1.15 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.
I hereby confirm that I have read Rule 1.15 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.
I trust that this answers all questions pending in this matter.
Very truly yours,
F. Bruce Abel
FBA:eh
Enclosures
Exhibit A – IOLTA statement thru 2/29/08
Exhibit B– IOLTA statement thru 3/31/08
Exhibit C– IOLTA statement thru 4/30/08
Exhibit D– IOLTA statement thru 5/31/08
Exhibit E– IOLTA statement thru 6/30/08
[no Exhibit F exists]
Exhibit G – IOLTA statement thru 7/31/08 (was labeled Exhibit G to my first letter as well)
Exhibit H– IOLTA statement thru 8/31/08
August 22, 2008
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
Supreme Court of Ohio
250 Civic Center Drive, Suite 325
Columbus OH 43215-7411
Re: ODC File No. Ax-xxxx
Dear Ms. Stone:
This letter is in response to your letter of August 19, 2008. I will try to provide explanation of the overdraft with as much detail as possible.
My personal account at US Bank is ; my US Bank IOLTA trust account is .
I will always remember this check out of my IOLTA trust account: Check No. 2101 for $1594.79 made out to , my client.
I owed the client money back from a retainer and I was leaving on vacation in Canada July 22, 2008. I had misplaced my trust checkbook which got buried (I later found it 10 days ago) between stacks of discovery papers I was reviewing for a major upcoming piece of litigation. And had ordered and just received new checks from the bank. (This check is the first of the new checks.)
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
August 22, 2008
Page Two
J and S called me for legal advice in April 2008. Their address is Zig Zag Road, Cincinnati OH 45242 and cell phone number is 513- . I agreed to write a strong letter in his behalf against a Mr. L over an expensive motorcycle dispute, and I was paid a one-time fee of $300 to write this letter. (Exhibits A, B) This amount was properly deposited in my personal account, . (Id.)
Later in April Mr. asked me to pursue the case in court and wrote me a check for $2950 as a deposit for court costs and legal work to be done. This amount was properly placed in my trust account, . (Exhibit C)
The offending check is Exhibit D Dated July 22, 2008.
Subsequently, perforce, I performed legal work and some of the trust money was appropriately drawn down for such and filing fees and postage, duly reported to the clients. (Exhibit E)
On July 8th our legal agreement terminated and I returned the remainder of my client’s deposit (Id.) before my wife and I left for the 18-day vacation. Although I carefully determined the amount I owed back to Mr. I, forgot that the first $300 had not gone into the trust account. (See Exhibit K for the running account to the clients); next I wrote the entire amount out of the Trust Account. Therefore when I withdrew the $1594.79 to pay Mr. I back, there was a deficit in the Trust Account, as $300 of it should have come from my personal account, and $1294.79 from the trust account.
The bank did honor this check (Exhibit D) in spite of the overdraw, so there was no damage done to the client, as your document shows. Immediately upon my return to Cincinnati, I found in the mail the bank notice, called the bank and paid the bank for the overdraft plus $1.00, out of account --, to keep the trust account going.
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
August 22, 2008
Page Three
The bank waived any penalty upon seeing I had over $18,000 sitting there in my checking account. Enclosed you will find:
Exhibit A: bank statement of April 24, 2008, showing a $500 deposit into my personal checking account.
Exhibit B: my checkbook showing the breaking down of the original $500 deposit reflecting a payment from Mr. I of $300 and another client of $200
Exhibit C: IOLTA bank statement of April 30, 2008, showing deposit of $2950.00, dated April 28, 2008
Exhibit D: Copy of the subject $1594.79 check[1] to client from the trust account
Exhibit E: Copy of invoice for legal fees, certified mail and filing fees sent to client
Exhibit F: June 30, 2008, IOLTA statement, as required by your letter but not otherwise relevant
Exhibit G: July 31, 2008, IOLTA statement showing overdraft of $216.05
Exhibit H: August 21, 2008 partial month, personal account xxxx statement showing debit of $217.05 to cover the overdraft plus $1.00
Exhibit I: Bank Memo showing Transfer of $217.05 out of personal account but not showing the account to which it went
Amy C. Stone
Assistant Disciplinary Counsel
August 22, 2008
Page Four
Exhibit J: August 21, 2008, Fax specifically showing transfer of that same amount into the IOLTA account ---, on August 11, 2008
Exhibit K: Client ledger for the subject months April through July 2008, as required by your letter
I trust this paper trail will satisfy your inquiry into the overdraft of my IOLTA account caused by Check No. 2101.
Respectfully yours,
F. Bruce Abel
FBA:eh
Enclosures
[1] In viewing this check I note for the first time that the new checks I had ordered in early July for the trust account do not have “IOLTA” on them, and I have corrected this error of the bank.
F. BRUCE ABEL
970 Laurel Avenue Glendale OH 45246
513-772-1045
Fax: 513-772-7991
September 30, 2008
Karen H. Osmond, Esq.
Staff Attorney
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
Supreme Court of Ohio
250 Civic Center Drive, Suite 325
Columbus OH 43215-7411
Re: ODC File No. A8-2018
Dear Ms. Osmond:
This letter is in response to yours of September 18, 2008. I will try to provide explanation of the overdraft with as much detail as possible. After review I agree with your conclusion that the “xxxxx” matter did not cause the overdraft. Rather, it was the “xxxxxxxx” matter.
In February 2008 Mr. xxxxx xxxxxxxx came to me in great need of an attorney. He had been accused of sexually harassing a bartender at xxxxxxxxx on the Levy (Newport). The attorney from Florida for xxxxxxxxx had represented both xxxxxxxxx and Mr. xxxxxxxx. Belatedly the lawyer realized he had waived Mr. xxxxxxxx’s rights not to arbitrate. xxxxx needed his own attorney for the arbitration that was fairly well along.
I required of Mr. xxxxxxxx a $2500 deposit, against which I would debit my time. This amount was deposited in my US Bank IOLTA trust account 1-xxxx-xxxx (Exhibit A). As I put in the time @ $150/hour, I transferred the following to my personal account at US Bank (xxx-xxx-x):
Karen H. Osmond, Esq.
September 30, 2008
Page Two
2/25/08 $450 Check # 2095 3 hours Exhibit A
3/05/08 $450 # 2096 3 hours Exhibit B
5/09/08 $450 # 2100 3 hours Exhibit D
Two debits were made to cash:
3/05/08 $300 Check # 2097 2 hours Exhibit B
4/22/08 $300 #2098 2 hours Exhibit C
On May 9, 2008, I negotiated an agreement with xxxxxxxxx whereby they would reimburse us for all Mr. xxxxxxxx’s legal fees and expenses. On that date I anticipatorily refunded to him $1,000 (Check # 2101). (As it turns out, this was $450 more than was in his account. As can be seen, I had drawn down $1950, not $1500, and therefore there was a $450 shortfall to the trust account, which I have repaid from my personal account (Exhibit H)).
In August I had also deposited into my IOLTA account the $216.05 overcharge plus $1.00 (Exhibit H), the $1.00 to keep the account open. Friday I deposited $22.50 from my personal account into the IOLTA account to pay for the Check Printing ($23.50) minus the $1.00 “keep-account-open” charge.
To date I have yet to be reimbursed by xxxxxxxxx and have expended about five hours trying to get paid by xxxxxxxxx.
Why I deposited $1 more back to IOLTA:
You have asked about the extra $1.00? The bank said this was necessary to keep the account open.
Karen H. Osmond, Esq.
September 30, 2008
Page Three
Supporting documentation of the reimbursement for the July 21, 2008, check printing charge.
As Exhibit G shows, the check printing charge was made to this account automatically by the bank. After reviewing Rule 1.15,
discussed infra, I realize this should not be a charge to the trust. As stated supra, I added $23.50 to the trust Friday, September 26th, from my personal account.
Confirmation that I have read Rule 1.15 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.
I hereby confirm that I have read Rule 1.15 of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct.
I trust that this answers all questions pending in this matter.
Very truly yours,
F. Bruce Abel
FBA:eh
Enclosures
Exhibit A – IOLTA statement thru 2/29/08
Exhibit B– IOLTA statement thru 3/31/08
Exhibit C– IOLTA statement thru 4/30/08
Exhibit D– IOLTA statement thru 5/31/08
Exhibit E– IOLTA statement thru 6/30/08
[no Exhibit F exists]
Exhibit G – IOLTA statement thru 7/31/08 (was labeled Exhibit G to my first letter as well)
Exhibit H– IOLTA statement thru 8/31/08
