High court suspends lawyer's license

4/10/2003

COLUMBUS - A Toledo lawyer whose license was under suspension was given an additional punishment yesterday by the Ohio Supreme Court in an unrelated disciplinary case from the Toledo Bar Association.

The court voted unanimously to suspend indefinitely the license of Ronald D. Dewey to practice law in Ohio.

Mr. Dewey's license had been suspended last year by the panel.

A lawyer since 1993, Mr. Dewey was accused of neglecting the legal interests of a Toledo couple who hired him to represent them in a civil lawsuit.

A master commissioner appointed to investigate the case said the couple were not informed about requests for discovery, appointments to take their depositions, and a hearing to appear on contempt charges.

The court's master commissioner determined that Mr. Dewey engaged in conduct that adversely reflected his fitness to practice law, and that he neglected an entrusted legal matter.

The commissioner recommended the indefinite suspension, noting that Mr. Dewey had been disciplined for misconduct on two prior occasions and was uncooperative in the court's investigation of the complaints.

In August, the court suspended his license for two years, staying the final year on the condition that he did not commit any more misconduct and complied with mandatory continuing legal education requirements.

The suspension stemmed from a Toledo Bar complaint in which Mr. Dewey was accused of talking to the mother of a juvenile who had accused his client of sexual abuse.

Mr. Dewey can petition the court for reinstatement of his license in two years.