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Bar Association Wants Restitution Added to Lawyer's Suspension
Columbus Bar Association v. Douglas W. Bulson Jr., Case No. 2023-0470
Franklin County
A client of a Columbus attorney waited nine years after a divorce to receive retirement funds from her ex-husband. An expert says the process should have taken between 60 to 90 days, and that the client lost out on thousands of dollars that could have been earned through investing it in a retirement plan.
The Board of Professional Conduct has recommended that the client's attorney, Douglas W. Bulson Jr., be suspended from the practice of law for 18 months, with 12 months stayed, for neglecting his client's matter. The Columbus Bar Association asks the Supreme Court of Ohio to order Bulson to pay between $7,917 and $18,204 in restitution to his client.
Bulson, who didn't file an objection to the proposed sanction, has been disciplined before. He received a fully stayed 18-month suspension in May 2020 for neglecting client matters. The board reported that "in retrospect" that sanction did not adequately protect the public. The board's proposed sanction in this case allows Bulson to be reinstated if he completes three hours of continuing legal education in law office management and works with a monitoring attorney for one year.
The board rejected the Columbus Bar Association's request that restitution be paid. The bar association's objection to the board recommendation triggered an oral argument before the Supreme Court.
Columbus Bar Association v. Douglas W. Bulson Jr., Case No. 2023-0470
Franklin County
A client of a Columbus attorney waited nine years after a divorce to receive retirement funds from her ex-husband. An expert says the process should have taken between 60 to 90 days, and that the client lost out on thousands of dollars that could have been earned through investing it in a retirement plan.
The Board of Professional Conduct has recommended that the client's attorney, Douglas W. Bulson Jr., be suspended from the practice of law for 18 months, with 12 months stayed, for neglecting his client's matter. The Columbus Bar Association asks the Supreme Court of Ohio to order Bulson to pay between $7,917 and $18,204 in restitution to his client.
Bulson, who didn't file an objection to the proposed sanction, has been disciplined before. He received a fully stayed 18-month suspension in May 2020 for neglecting client matters. The board reported that "in retrospect" that sanction did not adequately protect the public. The board's proposed sanction in this case allows Bulson to be reinstated if he completes three hours of continuing legal education in law office management and works with a monitoring attorney for one year.
The board rejected the Columbus Bar Association's request that restitution be paid. The bar association's objection to the board recommendation triggered an oral argument before the Supreme Court.
June 27, 2023