Board recommends attorney suspension regarding filings

The Ohio Supreme Court Board of Professional Conduct has recommended a two-year suspension for a Cleveland-based attorney for neglecting a client.

In an Aug. 7 decision, Kenneth J. Lewis, 46, was found to have violated three rules of professional conduct in failing to adequately represent his client in a case involving the dissolution of a marriage in 2017, according to Supreme Court documents. Lewis failed to file and prepare the necessary qualified domestic relations orders with Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court and did not inform his client he was the subject of another disciplinary sanction pending before the Supreme Court, the documents say.

In a June hearing, Lewis expressed regret over the incident and testified he “took his eye off the ball” while preoccupied with closing his office and ensuring his clients found other counsel during his pending suspension in a separate incident.

On May 4, Lewis paid $2,490 in restitution to his client to cover the cost of hiring new counsel and completing the filings.

Lewis’ suspension will be retroactive to May 30.

Upon reinstatement, he will serve a one-year period of monitored probation to ensure compliance with recommendations from the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program.

The Board of Professional Conduct took Lewis’ previous discipline into consideration.

In April 2009, Lewis received a one-year suspension for forging a judge’s signature on an entry granting occupational driving privileges, which had been denied, and giving the entry to his client.

Lewis previously served a two-year suspension in connection with a single-car crash in Elyria in June 2016, in which he and the driver both were intoxicated and told Elyria police a fictitious Black man was behind the wheel.