A Cleveland Heights bankruptcy attorney will not be able to practice law for six months after a unanimous disciplinary ruling today by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The per curiam opinion agreed with findings of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline that Barbara C. Brown-Daniels violated several sections of attorney professional conduct rules.

That conduct included failing to comply with bankruptcy court disgorgement orders, establishing a business arrangement with an attorney with no bankruptcy experience, using that attorney’s electronic-filing privileges and electronic signature without authorization, permitting her non-lawyer staff to complete documents and forms and file them without any attorney supervision, and failing to pay daily sanctions after being found in contempt.

The Supreme Court imposed a one-year suspension but stayed six months of it “on the conditions that she (1) commit no further misconduct, (2) complete six hours of CLE in law-office management within 90 days of the date of this order that shall not apply to the general CLE requirements of Gov.Bar R. X, and (3) remit or resolve all fines and costs assessed by the bankruptcy court within 90 days of the date of this order.”

Before seeking reinstatement to the practice of law, the Supreme Court also required Brown-Daniels to submit evidence that she has complied with CLE requirements imposed by a 2007 order of the bankruptcy court.

Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion, but only for noteworthy cases. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of court opinions. The full text of this and other court opinions are available online.

2012-1708. Cleveland Metro. Bar Assn. v. Brown-Daniels, Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-955.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 10-035.  Barbara Charmagne Brown-Daniels, Attorney Registration No. 0055655, is suspended from the practice of law in Ohio for one year, with the second six months of the suspension stayed on conditions.
O’Connor, C.J., and Pfeifer, O’Donnell, Lanzinger, Kennedy, French, and O’Neill, JJ., concur.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2013/2013-Ohio-955.pdf

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