In a per curiam opinion, a Supreme Court majority suspended Ronald Taylor Jr. of Fort Thomas for 18 months, with six months stayed, based on an April 2024 incident at the office of Blake R. Maislin. Taylor has been under interim suspension since shortly after the incident occurred.

Taylor did not appear at a Board of Professional Conduct disciplinary hearing, canceling his appearance shortly before the hearing was scheduled to start. The Court issued a greater suspension than recommended by the board, but adopted the board’s recommended conditions that Taylor must meet to be reinstated to the practice of law in Ohio.

Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy and Justices R. Patrick DeWine, Joseph T. Deters, Daniel R. Hawkins, and Megan E. Shanahan joined the per curiam opinion. Justice Patrick F. Fischer concurred in judgment only, and Justice Jennifer Brunner did not participate in the case.

Taylor Confronts Former Coworkers With Hatchet and Bat
Taylor, a former employee of the Maislin law firm, drove to the firm’s Cincinnati office in April 2024. Employees were assembling outside the office to observe a total solar eclipse. Taylor jumped out of his car with a shaved head and markings on his face, which he called “war paint.” He retrieved a hatchet and a metal baseball bat from his trunk.

He made several threatening comments to the group, and screamed for Blake Maislin to come outside and face him in a duel. Most of the law firm employees retreated into the building. However, Taylor’s former legal assistant approached him, calmed him down, and convinced him to leave. Someone called the police, but Taylor left before officers arrived, and no criminal charges were filed against him.

Later that day, Taylor sent his former legal assistant a series of text messages.

In his messages, he stated, “I was praying Blake would come out. I was praying that he would choose the bat since he likes baseball, so I could execute my plan and take his scalp and drink his blood in front of you ….”

In another text, he stated, “There is another device called a Molotov cocktail that I think would be tremendously effective during a big mediation, bring some innocents into it, to exponentially heighten the … horror.”

Disciplinary Counsel Seeks License Suspension
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel reacted to reports of the incident by requesting that the Court impose a remedial interim suspension on Taylor. The Court did so, and it remains in effect. The disciplinary counsel then charged Taylor with two ethical violations related to threatening the group outside the law office and for sending the text messages.

The parties stipulated that Taylor committed the misconduct and proposed that he be suspended for 18 months, with one year of the suspension stayed, subject to certain conditions for his reinstatement. When Taylor did not attend his disciplinary hearing before a three-member board panel, the disciplinary counsel withdrew the recommended sanction and left it to the panel’s discretion.

The board found Taylor violated the rule prohibiting a lawyer from committing illegal acts that reflect on his honesty or trustworthiness by threatening to harm Maislin. They also found he engaged in conduct adversely reflecting on his fitness to practice law by challenging Maislin to a duel and threatening to use a Molotov cocktail to firebomb the law office to cause harm to innocent occupants. The board then recommended that Taylor be suspended for 18 months with one year stayed.

Supreme Court Considered Sanction
The per curiam opinion noted that since Taylor did not attend his disciplinary hearing, the evidence is based on the disciplinary counsel’s contact with Taylor. The Court stated neither the board nor the Court had evidence regarding Taylor’s mental health at the time of the incident or any treatment he may have received since.

The opinion stated that Taylor has not offered even the most basic evidence regarding his behavioral health issues “that undoubtedly contributed to his unconventional, erratic, and threatening behavior.”

The Court suspended him for 18 months with six months stayed on the conditions that he not commit further misconduct and pay the costs of the disciplinary proceedings. To be reinstated, Taylor must submit to an Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program assessment and comply with any treatment or counseling recommendations arising from the assessment. He must also provide a report from a qualified healthcare professional stating he is capable of resuming the competent, ethical, and professional practice of law.

2025-0482. Disciplinary Counsel v. Taylor, Slip Opinion No. 2025-Ohio-4804.

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