More than $5 million of the Attorney Services Fund was used for disciplinary-related expenses in fiscal year 2013.

More than $5 million of the Attorney Services Fund was used for disciplinary-related expenses in fiscal year 2013.

About 60 percent of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Attorney Services Fund in Fiscal Year 2013 was used to support the attorney discipline process, according to an annual report published today. All attorney registration, late registration, and reinstatement fees are paid into the fund. The fund also receives revenue from other sources pursuant to the Rules for the Government of the Bar.

The Supreme Court allocated $9,152,553 from the Attorney Services Fund at the beginning of fiscal year 2013. According to the report, the fund expended $8,484,938 in the same time period. Of that total, more than $5 million was used for disciplinary-related expenses, including $2.6 million for the operations of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Additional expenditures from the fund supported:

• The administration of the Attorney Services Division, which oversees the delivery of services to Ohio attorneys and assists the Supreme Court in the exercise of its constitutional duty to regulate the practice of law.
• The Clients’ Security Fund to compensate clients of dishonest attorneys.
• The Supreme Court Reporter of Decisions to publish attorney discipline legal notices in newspapers.

The fund also provides grants to two nonprofits that assist organizations who provide legal services for the poor and aid lawyers who are suffering from alcoholism, substance abuse, or mental illness.

View the complete report.

PDF files may be viewed, printed, and searched using the free Acrobat^® Reader
Acrobat Reader is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.