The opinion
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as
Dayton Bar Assn. v. Daly, Slip Opinion No. 2025-Ohio-1624.]
NOTICE
This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an
advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested to
promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65
South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other
formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before
the opinion is published.
SLIP OPINION NO. 2025-OHIO-1624
DAYTON BAR ASSOCIATION v. DALY.
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it
may be cited as Dayton Bar Assn. v. Daly, Slip Opinion No. 2025-Ohio-1624.]
Attorneys—Misconduct—Attorney violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a) by twice revealing
confidential client information to a police officer with knowledge that doing
so could cause his former client serious legal harm—Eighteen-month
suspension, stayed on conditions.
(No. 2024-1399—Submitted January 7, 2025—Decided May 8, 2025.)
ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme
Court, No. 2024-005.
__________________
The per curiam opinion below was joined by DEWINE, DETERS, HAWKINS,
and SHANAHAN, JJ. KENNEDY, C.J., concurred in part and dissented in part, with
an opinion joined by FISCHER, J. BRUNNER, J., did not participate.
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
Per Curiam.
{¶ 1} Respondent, William Thomas Daly, of Port St. Lucie, Florida,
Attorney Registration No. 0069300, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in
1998.1
{¶ 2} In a January 2024 complaint, relator, Dayton Bar Association,
charged Daly with 12 violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct arising from
his representation of a single client. In July 2024, the parties entered into
stipulations of fact, misconduct, and aggravating and mitigating factors. In those
stipulations, Daly admitted that his conduct violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6 (prohibiting
a lawyer from revealing confidential client information without the client’s
informed consent). The parties jointly requested the dismissal of all other rule
violations alleged in relator’s complaint and agreed to withdraw all pending
motions and objections. They further agreed that the appropriate sanction for
Daly’s misconduct is a conditionally stayed 18-month suspension.
{¶ 3} Daly was the only witness to testify at the hearing before a three-
member panel of the Board of Professional Conduct. After the hearing and
consistent with the parties’ stipulations, the panel unanimously dismissed 11 of the
12 alleged rule violations. The panel later issued a report finding by clear and
convincing evidence that Daly had violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a) and recommending
that a conditionally stayed 18-month suspension be imposed for that misconduct.
The board adopted the panel’s findings of fact, conclusions of law, and
recommended sanction.
{¶ 4} No objections have been filed. However, Daly filed motions “to
restrict public access to the dismissed ethics complaint counts” and “to adopt the
current and standing prior court orders sealing those documents.” He subsequently
1. Daly’s state bar admissions also include New York and North Carolina.
2
January Term, 2025
filed what purports to be an affidavit in support of those motions. Relator filed a
motion to strike that affidavit, and Daly responded to that motion.
{¶ 5} After reviewing the record and our precedent, we adopt the board’s
findings of misconduct and recommended sanction. Relator’s motion to strike
Daly’s affidavit is granted, and Daly’s motions to restrict public access and to adopt
the sealing orders of other courts are summarily denied.
MISCONDUCT
{¶ 6} Daly began representing S.H. in April 2016, after she was indicted on
a burglary charge in the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. At that time,
S.H. was a single mother in her early twenties who was having financial difficulties
and battling drug addiction. Under a plea deal negotiated by Daly, S.H. pleaded
guilty to a reduced burglary charge and was sentenced to community control in July
2016.
{¶ 7} In August 2018, the trial court issued a notice for a community-
control-sanction-revocation hearing in S.H.’s criminal case based in part on her
failure to abstain from using illegal drugs. Daly represented S.H. at the hearing. In
September 2018, S.H. was reinstated to community control and assigned to the trial
court’s Women’s Therapeutic Docket, a court program designed to closely monitor
and aid women in need of intensive therapeutic services for drug addiction and
mental-health issues.
{¶ 8} In addition to the criminal case, Daly represented S.H. in a child-
custody matter in the Montgomery County Juvenile Court. In August 2018, he filed
a motion on S.H.’s behalf seeking sole custody of her minor child, child support, a
protective order against the child’s father, and supervised parenting time for the
father. Daly also defended S.H. against the father’s claim for full custody, in which
the father alleged that S.H. was abusing drugs and was unfit to care for the child.
{¶ 9} During his representation of S.H., Daly came to believe that S.H. had
stolen a necklace from his car. He tried, without success, to pressure her into
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returning the necklace. On October 31, 2018, S.H. sought and obtained an ex parte
civil protection order against Daly. Since that time, Daly has disputed the validity
of the facts alleged by S.H. in support of that order and also maintained that the
facts alleged by S.H. did not warrant the issuance of a civil protection order against
him.
{¶ 10} On November 1, 2018, Daly filed a motion to withdraw from
representing S.H. in her custody case. The next day, he met twice with Officer
Steven Perfetti of the Riverside Police Department, seeking assistance in
recovering the missing necklace.
{¶ 11} During his first meeting with Officer Perfetti, Daly acknowledged
that S.H. had obtained a civil protection order against him. Daly told the officer
that S.H. was homeless, but he identified the house where S.H. was staying with a
person who was actively and illegally dealing “pills and weed.” He claimed that
S.H. had admitted to him that she was having sex daily with that drug dealer so that
she would have a place to stay. Daly also told the officer that S.H. was engaging
in prostitution out of that house and that she was using heroin, marijuana, and
“roxys” and other pills. Daly gave the officer two phone numbers for S.H.,
explaining that one of them was the number the officer would call if he wanted
“weed, pills, Vicodin, ‘roxys,’ or Percocets.” He asked Officer Perfetti to contact
S.H. quickly because he was worried that she would get high later and would not
respond.
{¶ 12} During his second meeting with Officer Perfetti, Daly told the officer
that S.H. was driving a vehicle that had tags registered to another person, and he
explained that that was how S.H. got away with driving without a license. Daly
admitted at his disciplinary hearing that he had learned the facts he related to Officer
Perfetti solely from his confidential attorney-client communications with S.H.
{¶ 13} Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a) prohibits a lawyer from “reveal[ing]
information relating to the representation of a client, including information
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January Term, 2025
protected by the attorney-client privilege under applicable law, unless the client
gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out
the representation, or the disclosure is permitted by division (b) or required by
division (d)” of the rule.
{¶ 14} However, Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(b) permits a lawyer to “reveal
information relat[ed] to the representation of a client, including information
protected by the attorney-client privilege . . . , to the extent the lawyer reasonably
believes disclosure is necessary” to achieve certain enumerated objectives. Among
those objectives are:
• preventing death, substantial bodily harm, or the commission of a crime;
• mitigating the damage to the financial interests or property of others when the
client has used the lawyer’s services to further an illegal or fraudulent act;
• securing legal advice about the lawyer’s compliance with the professional-
conduct rules;
• permitting the lawyer to establish a claim or defense in controversies between
the lawyer and the client or to defend himself in civil or criminal matters based
on conduct involving the client;
• permitting the lawyer to respond to allegations in any proceeding, including
disciplinary proceedings, regarding the lawyer’s representation of the client;
• permitting the client to comply with other law or a court order; and
• detecting and resolving conflicts of interest in the event of changes in the
lawyer’s employment or firm composition.
See Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(b).
{¶ 15} In contrast, Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(d) requires a lawyer to reveal
information related to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer
reasonably believes the disclosure is necessary to comply with Prof.Cond.R. 3.3
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(regarding candor toward the tribunal) or Prof.Cond.R. 4.1 (regarding the
truthfulness of a lawyer’s statements to others).
{¶ 16} The parties stipulated that the information Daly disclosed to Officer
Perfetti was confidential client information that he knew from representing S.H.
and that no exception set forth in Prof.Cond.R. 1.6 either permitted or required Daly
to disclose it. In addition, the parties acknowledged that Daly’s disclosure of S.H.’s
confidential client information could have resulted in serious consequences for
S.H., including the potential for new criminal charges, revocation of the
community-control sanction imposed under the plea deal in her criminal case, and
adverse rulings in her custody case.
{¶ 17} On these facts, the board found by clear and convincing evidence
that Daly had violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a). We adopt the board’s finding of
misconduct.
SANCTION
{¶ 18} When imposing sanctions for attorney misconduct, we consider all
relevant factors, including the ethical duties that the attorney violated, the
aggravating and mitigating factors listed in Gov.Bar R. V(13), and the sanctions
imposed in similar cases.
{¶ 19} The parties stipulated and the board found that four aggravating
factors are present in this case. First, Daly acted with a selfish motive by disclosing
S.H.’s confidential client information in retaliation for her allegedly taking a
necklace from him and obtaining an ex parte civil protection order against him. See
Gov.Bar R. V(13)(B)(2). Daly also engaged in a pattern of misconduct and
committed multiple offenses by disclosing S.H.’s confidential client information in
two separate meetings with Officer Perfetti. See Gov.Bar R. V(13)(B)(3) and (4).
And finally, Daly initially denied his misconduct and was generally uncooperative
in the disciplinary process. See Gov.Bar R. V(13)(B)(5). Although the board found
that the stipulated facts and evidence demonstrate that S.H. was clearly a vulnerable
6
January Term, 2025
client, it concluded that Daly’s disclosures of S.H.’s confidential client information
ultimately had no effect on her criminal or custody cases.
{¶ 20} As for mitigation, the parties stipulated and the board found that
Daly has no prior discipline and that he eventually cooperated in the disciplinary
proceedings and admitted that his conduct violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a). See
Gov.Bar R. V(13)(C)(1) and (3).
{¶ 21} The parties stipulated that a conditionally stayed 18-month
suspension is the appropriate sanction for Daly’s misconduct. But in his closing
argument at the disciplinary hearing, Daly withdrew his agreement to that sanction
and argued in favor of a conditionally stayed 12-month suspension.
{¶ 22} In support of its recommended sanction, relator advanced two cases
that involve Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a) violations: Cleveland Metro. Bar Assn. v. Heben,
2017-Ohio-6965, and Disciplinary Counsel v. Holmes and Kerr, 2018-Ohio-4308.
{¶ 23} In Heben, an attorney revealed a client’s confidential information in
an affidavit submitted with a publicly filed motion to withdraw from the
representation; he did so in apparent retaliation for the client’s alleged failure to
pay his legal fees, thereby committing a single violation of Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a).
The judge presiding over the client’s case struck Heben’s affidavit from the record
because his disclosures were inappropriate and unnecessary for purposes of seeking
withdrawal. Aggravating factors consisted of Heben’s selfish motive and initial
failure to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct. Heben at ¶ 14. In
mitigation, Heben had no prior disciplinary record and made full and free
disclosures to the board and exhibited a cooperative attitude toward the disciplinary
proceedings. Id. at 16. He also submitted numerous letters from judges, attorneys,
and laypersons attesting to his good character and reputation, as well as his
community and charitable services. Id.
{¶ 24} Distinguishing the facts of Heben from those of Akron Bar Assn. v.
Holder, 2004-Ohio-2835—in which we imposed a two-year suspension with 18
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SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
months conditionally stayed on an attorney who disclosed client confidences or
secrets without authorization and committed other misconduct, including
groundlessly suing his client for fraud, violating conflict-of-interest rules, and
engaging in dishonest conduct—we concluded that a fully stayed one-year
suspension was the appropriate sanction for Heben’s misconduct. Heben at ¶ 18-
19, 23.
{¶ 25} In Holmes and Kerr, two attorneys who represented public-school
districts while working in separate law practices commenced a personal
relationship. In more than a dozen emails exchanged over a period of nearly two
years, they revealed confidential client information to each other. Moreover, the
misconduct continued even after the attorneys’ respective law firms discovered
their actions and after disciplinary counsel commenced his investigation. But in
contrast to the attorney in Heben, the attorneys in Holmes and Kerr did not disclose
damaging client information in a publicly filed document. In addition to finding
that Holmes and Kerr’s conduct violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a) as Daly has in this
case, we also found that their conduct violated Prof.Cond.R. 8.4(h) (prohibiting a
lawyer from engaging in conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s fitness to
practice law). See Holmes and Kerr, 2018-Ohio-4308, at ¶ 6.
{¶ 26} The sole aggravating factor in Holmes and Kerr was that the
attorneys had engaged in a pattern of misconduct. Id. Mitigating factors consisted
of their clean disciplinary records, cooperative attitudes toward the disciplinary
proceedings, and evidence of their good character. Id. On those facts, we adopted
the parties’ consent-to-discipline agreements and imposed conditionally stayed six-
month suspensions on both Holmes and Kerr. Id. at ¶ 10-11.
{¶ 27} In this case, Daly represented a young, troubled, single mother who
was struggling with drug addiction and the possibility that she could lose custody
of her child. S.H. needed to be able to freely discuss her problems with her attorney
and be confident that he would use that information to advise her in her legal
8
January Term, 2025
matters, rather than use the information against her. On two separate occasions,
however, Daly deliberately disclosed S.H.’s confidential client information to a
police officer, and he did so with the knowledge that his disclosures could cause
S.H. serious legal harm. In his disciplinary-hearing testimony, Daly explained that
he made the disclosures to Officer Perfetti because he had been trying for ten days
to recover a necklace from S.H. that he believed she had stolen from him and
because he felt “stymied” when she obtained an ex parte civil protection order
against him based on what he believed to be false evidence. He described his state
of mind as “[f]rustrated; angry; upset; humiliated; [and] disappointed.” He
acknowledged, however, that his feelings of frustration were not an excuse for his
misconduct.
{¶ 28} In his closing argument at the disciplinary hearing, Daly sought to
distinguish his misconduct in this case from the misconduct that was at issue in
Heben, noting that Heben had attempted to justify his disclosure of confidential
client information and never really took responsibility for his misconduct. Daly
argued that he should be credited for offering no such excuses for his actions and
for eventually acknowledging that what he did was wrong. Asserting that Heben’s
conduct was worse than his own, Daly argued that he should receive a sanction no
greater than the fully stayed 12-month suspension this court imposed in Heben.
{¶ 29} The board noted, however, that in his closing argument, Daly had
overlooked the fact that Heben had presented significant evidence of his good
character and reputation, while Daly offered none. Moreover, the board found that
the confidential client information Daly had divulged to Officer Perfetti was
“intentionally degrading and belittling” to S.H. and that its disclosure could have
caused S.H. to be incarcerated or to lose custody of her child. The board rejected
Daly’s argument for a lesser sanction and found that his misconduct warranted a
more serious sanction than that imposed in Heben. The board therefore
recommends that we suspend Daly from the practice of law for 18 months with the
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entire suspension stayed on the conditions that he commit no further misconduct
and that he be assessed the costs of these disciplinary proceedings.
{¶ 30} “A fundamental principle in the attorney-client relationship is that
the attorney shall maintain the confidentiality of any information learned during the
attorney-client relationship.” Kala v. Aluminum Smelting & Refining Co., Inc.,
1998-Ohio-439, ¶ 12. The purpose of this confidentiality is “to encourage full and
frank communication between attorneys and their clients and thereby promote
broader public interests in the observance of law and administration of justice.”
Upjohn Co. v. United States, 449 U.S. 383, 389 (1981).
{¶ 31} In this case, Daly violated that fundamental principal of the attorney-
client relationship by disclosing to a police officer confidential information about
S.H. that he had learned while representing her. He did so in a selfish effort to
recover property that S.H. had allegedly stolen from him. Daly’s unauthorized
disclosure of that information posed a significant threat to S.H.’s liberty and her
ability to maintain custody of her child—the two interests that Daly was hired and
duty bound to protect. Daly made those damaging disclosures in two separate
meetings with the officer, and he initially denied his misconduct and was generally
uncooperative throughout most of the disciplinary process. And although he
practiced law for approximately 20 years without discipline before engaging in the
above-described misconduct, in contrast to the attorney in Heben, Daly has not
offered any evidence to otherwise establish his good character and reputation.
{¶ 32} Based on our review of the record, we agree with the board’s
conclusion that a conditionally stayed 18-month suspension is the appropriate
sanction for Daly’s misconduct.
MOTIONS
{¶ 33} On January 30, 2025, Daly filed motions “to restrict public access to
the dismissed ethics complaint counts” and “to adopt the current and standing prior
court orders sealing those documents.” Nearly three weeks later, on February 18,
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January Term, 2025
Daly filed an affidavit in support of those motions. And on February 21, relator
filed a motion to strike Daly’s affidavit. Daly responded to that motion three days
later. We grant relator’s motion to strike Daly’s affidavit. Daly’s motions,
however, are summarily denied.
CONCLUSION
{¶ 34} Accordingly, William Thomas Daly is suspended from the practice
of law in Ohio for 18 months, with the entire suspension stayed on the conditions
that he commit no further misconduct and that he pay the costs of these proceedings.
If Daly fails to comply with either condition of the stay, the stay will be revoked
and he will serve the entire 18-month suspension. Relator’s February 21, 2025
motion to strike is granted, and Daly’s January 30, 2025 motions are summarily
denied.
Judgment accordingly.
__________________
KENNEDY, C.J., joined by FISCHER, J., concurring in part and
dissenting in part.
{¶ 35} This case is about respondent William Thomas Daly’s vindictive
breach of the attorney-client privilege. I agree with the majority that Daly’s
conduct violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a) (prohibiting a lawyer from revealing
confidential client information without the client’s informed consent). I also agree
with the majority’s resolution of Daly’s motions. But I disagree with the majority’s
decision to adopt the Board of Professional Conduct’s recommendation to suspend
Daly from the practice of law for 18 months, with the entire suspension stayed on
the condition that he commit no further misconduct. Instead, our precedent
supports indefinitely suspending Daly from the practice of law.
{¶ 36} In the past, this court has held that “a lawyer’s duty to provide
undivided loyalty to a client is paramount.” Columbus Bar Assn. v. Ross, 2006-
Ohio-5, ¶ 29. That undivided loyalty includes maintaining the confidentiality of
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any information that the attorney learns during the attorney-client relationship. See
Kala v. Aluminum Smelting & Refining Co., Inc., 1998-Ohio-439, ¶ 12.
{¶ 37} Accordingly, because our caselaw supports indefinitely suspending
Daly from the practice of law, I dissent in part.
Law and Analysis
{¶ 38} “Each disciplinary case involves unique facts and
circumstances.” Gov.Bar R. V(13)(A). When we review cases involving similar
attorney misconduct and aggravating and mitigating factors, we apply our
precedent to ensure a fair and equitable disciplinary system. Disciplinary Counsel
v. Nowicki, 2023-Ohio-3079, ¶ 35 (Kennedy, C.J., concurring in part and dissenting
in part).
{¶ 39} “The primary purpose of attorney discipline ‘is not to punish the
offender, but to protect the public.’” Id. at ¶ 82 (Kennedy, C.J., concurring in part
and dissenting in part), quoting Disciplinary Counsel v. O’Neill, 2004-Ohio-4704,
¶ 53. “‘Protecting the public . . . is not strictly limited to protecting clients from a
specific attorney’s potential misconduct. Imposing attorney-discipline sanctions
also protects the public by demonstrating to the bar and the public that this type of
conduct will not be tolerated.’” (Ellipses in original.) Id. at ¶ 83 (Kennedy, C.J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part), quoting Disciplinary Counsel v.
Schuman, 2017-Ohio-8800, ¶ 17.
The Attorney-Client Privilege
{¶ 40} The attorney-client privilege forbids an attorney from disclosing to
anyone knowledge “relat[ing] to the services for which he was employed, whether
it is gained from words or merely by observations.” Taylor v. Sheldon, 172 Ohio
St. 118 (1961), paragraph four of the syllabus. It is “is one of the oldest recognized
privileges for confidential communications.” Swidler & Berlin v. United States,
524 U.S. 399, 403 (1998).
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January Term, 2025
{¶ 41} We have acknowledged that the privilege “is very ancient, very
sacred, and universally admitted and approved.” Duttenhofer v. State, 34 Ohio St.
91, 92 (1877). At the time, “the bench and bar never complained of it, always
enforced it, and jealously guarded it.” Id.
{¶ 42} The attorney-client privilege is necessary “to permit complete
freedom of disclosure by a client to his attorney without fear that any facts so
disclosed will be used against him.” Taylor at 121. Essentially, attorneys must
keep client communications “‘as secret and inviolable as if the facts had remained
in the knowledge of the client alone.’” Foley v. Poschke, 137 Ohio St. 593, 595
(1941), quoting Dickerson v. Dickerson, 322 Ill. 492, 500 (1926).
Caselaw Supports Indefinitely Suspending Daly
{¶ 43} In each of the following cases, this court indefinitely suspended from
the practice of law attorneys who violated the attorney-client privilege.
{¶ 44} In Stark Cty. Bar Assn. v. Osborne, Osborne entered various real-
estate transactions with a physically and mentally incompetent client. 1 Ohio St.3d
140 (1982). The board found that the client lost money in each transaction and that
Osborne betrayed his client’s confidences by representing a third party with
interests adverse to the client’s. The board also found that Osborne had entered a
business relationship with a different client in which his personal interests would
affect his judgment, that Osborne used the client’s confidences to his own
advantage, and that Osborne’s conduct was prejudicial to the administration of
justice.
{¶ 45} The court did not explicitly state what Osborne revealed, but it is
implied that if an attorney enters a transaction with a client and the client loses
money, the attorney used the client’s confidences to the client’s detriment.
Findlay/Hancock Cty. Bar Assn. v. Filkins, 2000-Ohio-491, ¶ 56 (holding “that
where an attorney represents himself and his client in a business deal, and the client
loses money on the deal, a presumption arises that the attorney used client
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confidences to his client’s disadvantage”). Consequently, this court adopted the
board’s recommended sanction and indefinitely suspended Osborne. Osborne at
142-143.
{¶ 46} Next, in Greater Cleveland Bar Assn. v. Watkins, this court
indefinitely suspended an attorney who revealed confidential client information and
used that information to his advantage. 68 Ohio St.2d 11 (1981). In that case,
Watkins’s client disputed his legal fees and filed a complaint with the relator.
During the relator’s investigation, the client asked the relator to drop the complaint
because Watkins had contacted the client’s employer and threatened that if relator
did not stop its investigation, he would report the client and the client’s employer
to the authorities for paying the client “somewhat under the table.” Id. at 12.
{¶ 47} The client had shared with Watkins information about how his
employer paid him, but the client had not authorized Watkins to release that
information. This court adopted the board’s findings and recommended sanction
to indefinitely suspend Watkins from the practice of law. Id.
{¶ 48} Finally, in Cleveland Bar Assn. v. Fox, we indefinitely suspended an
attorney for violating the attorney-client privilege when he used confidential client
information to the client’s disadvantage. 1996-Ohio-250. Fox represented a driver
and passenger who had been in a car accident. The driver lost his claim in
arbitration and appealed. Fox then withdrew as the driver’s counsel and cross-
claimed against him on the passenger’s behalf. The board found that Fox, who did
not respond to the allegations against him, had failed to preserve a client’s secrets
by using the driver’s confidential client information against him in the cross-claim.
The board also found that Fox accepted employment in which his personal interests
would impede his judgment and represented a third party with interests adverse to
his client’s. We adopted the board’s recommended sanction and indefinitely
suspended Fox from the practice of law. Id. at ¶ 6.
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January Term, 2025
{¶ 49} Daly’s violation of the attorney-client privilege is similar to the
violations in Osborne, Watkins, and Fox. S.H. was a vulnerable client—a single
mother battling a drug addiction and engaged in a child-custody dispute. Daly
vindictively attempted to use S.H.’s confidential client information—that she lived
with a drug dealer, engaged in prostitution, and drove without a license—to get her
in criminal trouble. His use of S.H.’s confidential client information did not come
close to falling within an exception to the disclosure of such information. See State
ex rel. Nix v. Cleveland, 1998-Ohio-290, ¶ 20 (holding that “[a] communication is
excepted from the attorney-client privilege if it is undertaken for the purpose of
committing or continuing a crime,” but “the mere fact that communications may be
related to a crime is insufficient to overcome the attorney-client privilege”). Daly
reported her to the police because he believed that S.H. stole a necklace from his
car—with no explanation as to why she was there, what she was doing there, or
how she got into his car in the first place.
{¶ 50} The attorneys in Fox and Osborne used confidential client
information to financially hurt their clients and benefit themselves, and this court
indefinitely suspended them. Fox at ¶ 2, 6; Osborne, 1 Ohio St.3d at 142-143. And
in Watkins, the attorney had merely threatened to use confidential client
information against the client, and this court indefinitely suspended him. Watkins,
68 Ohio St.2d at 12. If Watkins’s threat that he would use confidential client
information to get his client and the client’s employer in legal trouble warranted
imposing an indefinite suspension, certainly Daly’s going to the police and using
S.H.’s confidential client information to try to get her in legal trouble does too.
{¶ 51} For these reasons, Daly’s misconduct warrants an indefinite
suspension from the practice of law.
The Majority’s Cases Are Distinguishable
{¶ 52} To support Daly’s sanction, the majority relies on three cases:
Cleveland Metro. Bar Assn. v. Heben, 2017-Ohio-6965, Akron Bar Assn. v. Holder,
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2004-Ohio-2835, and Disciplinary Counsel v. Holmes and Kerr, 2018-Ohio-4308.
But the flagrancy of Daly’s conduct exceeds the misconduct in each of those cases.
{¶ 53} In Heben, the board found that Heben violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a).
Heben represented a client in a divorce proceeding and withdrew as counsel by
filing an affidavit stating his reasons for withdrawing. He “recounted
communications he had had with [his client] about the scope of his representation
and his compensation, accused [his client] of refusing to pay his agreed-upon fees
‘without cause,’ and disclosed legal advice that he had given [his client].” Heben
at ¶ 5.
{¶ 54} At his disciplinary hearing, Heben claimed that he included that
information because of a fee dispute with the client. As for aggravating factors, the
board found that Heben had a selfish motive and that he did not acknowledge the
wrongful nature of his conduct. Id. at ¶ 14. In mitigation, the board found that
Heben had no disciplinary record, made full and free disclosure to the board,
cooperated in the disciplinary process, and submitted letters from the bench and bar
concerning his good character and reputation. Id. at ¶ 16. This court adopted the
board’s recommended sanction and suspended Heben from the practice of law for
one year, with the entire year conditionally stayed. Id. at ¶ 22.
{¶ 55} The board found that Daly, like Heben, acted selfishly. But unlike
the attorney in Heben, Daly’s misconduct was vindictive. Heben had a colorable
argument that he needed to include in his affidavit confidential client information
to resolve a fee dispute. See id. at ¶ 14-15; see also Squire, Sanders & Dempsey,
L.L.P. v. Givaudan Flavors Corp., 2010-Ohio-4469, paragraph one of the syllabus
(an attorney may testify about confidential attorney-client communications to
establish a claim for legal fees). Daly, however, had no reason to disclose S.H.’s
confidential client information to the police. He certainly had no reason to talk to
the police twice, and Daly has not shown any connection between his accusation
that S.H. stole a necklace from him and him telling the police that S.H. used drugs,
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January Term, 2025
worked as a prostitute, and drove without a license. Rather, revenge motivated him.
Finally, Heben presented evidence of his good character, but Daly did not. Heben
at ¶ 16.
{¶ 56} In Holder, this court suspended Holder from the practice of law for
24 months, with 18 months conditionally stayed. 2004-Ohio-2835 at ¶ 45. To
warrant that sanction, Holder represented clients with diverging interests, disclosed
to third parties a former client’s criminal record, and sent a complaint concerning
that same former client’s unpaid legal fees to uninvolved third parties. At his
disciplinary hearing, Holder argued that his client’s criminal record and the fee
dispute were public records, and therefore, he did not violate the attorney-client
privilege.
{¶ 57} This court rejected that argument, holding that “an attorney is not
free to disclose embarrassing or harmful features of a client’s life just because they
are documented in public records or the attorney learned of them in some other
way.” Id. at ¶ 39.
{¶ 58} To reach its recommended sanction, the board analyzed multiple
aggravating and mitigating factors. As aggravating factors, the board found that
Holder’s misconduct harmed the client, that he lacked remorse, and that he acted
selfishly. Id. at ¶ 33. In mitigation, the board found that Holder had no prior
disciplinary record, he directed his misconduct toward only one client, and he
cooperated in the disciplinary proceedings. Id. at ¶ 32.
{¶ 59} The egregiousness of Daly’s misconduct exceeds Holder’s.
Although the attorneys in each case acted with a selfish motive and lacked remorse
for their conduct, Holder released publicly available information while Daly
released confidential client information. And unlike Holder, Daly did not initially
cooperate in the disciplinary proceedings.
{¶ 60} Lastly, in Holmes and Kerr, the relator charged two attorneys who
worked at different law firms with improperly disclosing to each other confidential
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client information over email. Kerr sent Holmes communications from her clients
in which they requested certain legal documents, and Holmes helped Kerr by
providing her with copies of his own clients’ documents that he prepared in similar
cases. The board found that both attorneys violated Prof.Cond.R. 1.6(a) and 8.4(h)
(prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct adversely reflecting on the lawyer’s
fitness to practice law) multiple times but also that they had no prior discipline,
cooperated with the disciplinary proceedings, and presented evidence of good
character. Holmes and Kerr, 2018-Ohio-4308, at ¶ 6. In the end, we suspended
both attorneys for six months, with the suspensions conditionally stayed. Id. at
¶ 11.
{¶ 61} Unlike Holmes and Kerr, Daly violated only one rule, and he
violated that rule with respect to only one client, although he disclosed that client’s
confidences to the police twice. But Daly did not reveal S.H.’s confidences to help
her—he told his client’s secrets to the police in an effort to get her into trouble—
he did not initially cooperate in the disciplinary proceedings, and he did not present
positive-character evidence. Of course, the egregiousness of Daly’s misconduct
surpasses the misconduct that was at issue in Holmes and Kerr because Kerr at least
acted to benefit her clients. Here, Daly acted to his client’s detriment.
{¶ 62} At bottom, a comparison of this case’s facts with those in Heben,
Holder, and Holmes and Kerr demonstrates that the majority’s reliance on those
cases is misplaced. Consequently, Daly’s sanction goes against this court’s practice
of indefinitely suspending attorneys who breach the attorney-client privilege.
Conclusion
{¶ 63} The record does not justify departing from our precedent of
indefinitely suspending attorneys for disclosing confidential information to the
client’s detriment. I am unaware of any other case this court has decided in which
an attorney, motivated by revenge, revealed his client’s secrets to the police.
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{¶ 64} Therefore, I concur in part and dissent in part and would indefinitely
suspend Daly from the practice of law.
__________________
Roderer Law Office, L.L.C., and Paul B. Roderer Jr., for relator.
William T. Daly, pro se.
__________________
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