Cleveland Bar Ass'n v. Fleck

Citation172 Ohio St. 467,178 N.E.2d 782
Decision Date06 December 1961
Docket NumberNo. 19,19
Parties, 17 O.O.2d 458 CLEVELAND BAR ASSOCIATION v. FLECK et al. D. D.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Ohio

Paul J. Gnau, Paul Mancino and Burt J. Fulton, Cleveland, for relator.

David I. Sindell, Cleveland, for respondents.

PER CURIAM.

Counsel are agreed that this matter is before the court de novo for consideration of the evidence and the recommendation of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline.

Fortunately many of the controlling facts are not in dispute.

The conclusions of the board read as follows:

'1. Aaron Fleck, Sidney Fleck and Charles Fleck are guilty of misconduct within the meaning of paragraph 5 of amended Rule XXVII of the Supreme Court of Ohio, in the following respects:

'a. In that they, as partners, wilfully entered into a written contract as heretofore set forth with Local 407 of the Teamsters Union, Cleveland, Ohio, on or about November 25th, 1957, which contract constituted an employment by a labor organization under which legal services would be rendered to the members thereof in respect to their individual affairs, and constituted a seeking out of those with claims for personal injuries in order to secure them as clients, contrary to Canons 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the Canons of Professional Ethics.

'b. In that they, as partners, by entering into said written contract with a labor union wilfully caused a system of referrals to be created in order to carry out the purposes of the contract, whereby said respondents obtained others, to wit: the officers and employees of said union, as touters, to solicit and obtain professional employment for them, by referring union members to said respondents for counsel and assistance in their individual affairs, to wit: personal injury claims under the workmen's compensation laws, contrary to Canons 27, 28, 29 and 35 of the Canons of Professional Ethics and Rule XXVIII, Section 3, of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

'c. In that they, as partners, by entering into the aforesaid contract with a labor union did breed litigation by seeking out persons having personal injury claims under the workmen's compensation laws as clients, contrary to Canon 28 of the Canons of Professional Ethics.

'2. Aaron Fleck is guilty of misconduct within the meaning of paragraph 5 of Rule XXVII of the Supreme Court of Ohio in that he solicited professional employment by personal communications to the members of said union local 407 in meeting assembled for the purpose of securing the execution of said employment contract by the union, whereby he would render the members legal services in their individual affairs, the same not being warranted by his personal relations with said members, contrary to Canon 27 of the Canons of Professional Ethics

'3. The respondents are not guilty of misconduct relating to the alleged making of fraudulent claims and statements to the Industrial Commission of Ohio.'

As held by this court in the fifth paragraph of the syllabus of In re Disbarment of Lieberman, 163 Ohio St. 35, 125 N.E.2d 328, 'the degree of proof required in a disbarment proceeding is a preponderance of the evidence.'

Are the charges against these respondents sustained by a preponderance of the evidence in this record?

Conclusion No. 1 of the board, supra, relating to the purpose of the admitted contract with the union, is based on several findings of fact, five of which read as follows:

'23. The board finds that the respondents, Aaron Fleck, Charles Fleck and Sidney Fleck, at the execution of said contract, anticipated that the availability of their 'free services' and preferential rates would be brought to the attention of the members of local 407 by union officers and would result in many such members consulting them and then employing them on a fee basis, the same being their motivation for making said contract.

'24. Sillins, in preparing the contract, anticipated that there would arise out of the preparation by Fleck and Fleck of the C-1 and C-3 forms, many calls for services which would require claims for permanent partial disability and permanent total disability. The board finds that the...

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13 cases
  • Abrams, Matter of
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (3rd Circuit)
    • 30 Junio 1975
    ...Court. The respondents were indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Ohio on December 6, 1961. (Cleveland Bar Association v. Fleck et al., 172 Ohio St. 467, 178 N.E.2d 782.) On June 15, 1962 respondents were suspended forthwith from the practice of law in this Court, and pursuant ......
  • Unauthorized Practice of Law in Cuyahoga County, In re
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Ohio
    • 10 Julio 1963
    ...of Workmen's Compensation. See Dayton Bar Association v. Herzog (1962), 173 Ohio St. 313, 181 N.E.2d 880; Cleveland Bar Association v. Fleck (1961), 172 Ohio St. 467, 178 N.E.2d 782. Protecting members of the public from being induced to pay for such advice and services of nonlawyers is jus......
  • In re Fleck
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)
    • 4 Diciembre 1969
    ...of Ohio suspended indefinitely from the practice of law three Cleveland attorneys, a father and two sons. Cleveland Bar Assn. v. Fleck et al., 172 Ohio St. 467, 178 N.E.2d 782, cert. denied, 369 U.S. 861, 82 S.Ct. 948, 8 L.Ed.2d 19, rehearing denied, 370 U.S. 914, 82 S.Ct. 1254, 8 L.Ed.2d T......
  • Mahoning County Bar Ass'n v. Ruffalo
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Ohio
    • 20 Mayo 1964
    ...proceeding is a preponderance of the evidence.' To the same effect see the per curiam opinion in Cleveland Bar Association v. Fleck (1961), 172 Ohio St. 467, 469, 178 N.E.2d 782. In cases of this kind, the board of commissioners acts for and on behalf of this court. In doing so, it makes re......
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