From left: David L. Dingwell and Sanford E. Watson II

From left: David L. Dingwell and Sanford E. Watson II

The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct today announced the election of officers for calendar year 2017.

Commissioner David L. Dingwell was selected by the board to serve as its chair. He has served on the board since 2012 and has chaired one of the board’s two probable cause panels. Commissioner Dingwell is a partner in the Canton firm of Tzangas, Plakas Mannos, where his practice focuses on litigation, probate and estate planning, and employment law. From 2012-2013, he served as president of the Stark County Bar Association and chaired the association’s certified grievance committee from 2006-2008. Commissioner Dingwell is a graduate of the University of Kansas and the University of Akron Law School, and has been admitted to practice in Ohio since 1992.

Commissioner Sanford E. Watson II was elected to serve as vice chair. Commissioner Watson was first appointed to the board in 2011 and has chaired the board’s Advisory Opinion Committee since 2015. He is a partner with the Cleveland firm of Tucker Ellis, practicing in the areas of business litigation, products liability, and public law. Commissioner Watson previously served as chief prosecutor and director of public safety for the city of Cleveland and is a past president of the Norman S. Minor Bar Association. He is a graduate of Morehouse College and the Georgetown University Law Center and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1988.

Commissioners Dingwell and Watson replace board chair Paul M. De Marco from Cincinnati and vice chair William J. Novak from Cleveland, both of whom are leaving the board after nine years of service.