The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct became the first attorney disciplinary board in the U.S. to hold a virtual hearing in 2020.

The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct became the first attorney disciplinary board in the U.S. to hold a virtual hearing in 2020.

The disposition of dozens of cases and a sudden shift in how the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct held disciplinary hearings amid COVID-19 are at the center of its 2020 annual report.

Given the inability to operate in-person inquiries due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Professional Conduct quickly implemented procedures to host hearings via video conference, ensuring operation would be fair, safe, and efficient.

Last April, the Ohio Supreme Court’s semi-independent body became the first attorney disciplinary board in the United States to conduct a hearing exclusively by videoconference.

In total, the entity produced 31 remote hearings that spanned 37 days.

“In light of the global pandemic, the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct quickly adapted new procedures that allowed disciplinary hearings to take place in a timely and fair manner,” said Richard Dove, the board’s director. “The procedures implemented served as a model for attorney discipline boards in other jurisdictions.”

The advisory group’s main role of case dispositions consisted of 71 separate cases, including 48 that were filed with the Ohio Supreme Court that recommending discipline against an Ohio attorney or judge. The board also dismissed two matters alleging ethical violations due to insufficient evidence.

As part of the disciplinary process, the board held 45 panel hearings and six meetings to review reports from the panels and the board committee.

The board issued 12 formal advisory opinions in 2020, four of which addressed questions of first impression in Ohio, and its staff made 25 education presentations across Ohio to attorneys, judges, magistrates, judicial candidates, and law students.

In March, the board issued its fifth Ethics Guide. It addressed the subject of limited scope representation, which lists the requirements associated with such legal handling and identifies several best practices for lawyers who enter into agreements to provide limited legal services to clients

The Board of Professional Conduct was established in 1957 as a quasi-independent body to assist the Ohio Supreme Court in its constitutional obligation to regulate the practice of law. The board consists of 28 volunteer commissioners appointed by the Supreme Court and employs a staff of four. The board’s activities are funded entirely by attorney registration fees assessed by the Supreme Court.