Professional Liability Blog

The realities of running a business can sometimes interfere with the practice of law. When a lawyer needs funding to keep his or her practice afloat, a tempting source of financing might be a wealthy client with whom the lawyer has developed a relationship over the course of many years and transactions. Borrowing money from a client, however, is rife with ethical and legal ramifications.

Some attorneys still have not learned. Improper handling of client trust accounts is an ethical violation of the highest degree.

Attorney Robert Trainor is licensed in Ohio and Kentucky. In 2011, the Supreme Court of Ohio suspended him from practicing for 24 months for failing to notify a client he did not carry professional liability insurance and mishandling client funds. (The court indicated it would allow Trainor to serve the last 18 months on probation, subject to certain conditions.)