Former managing partner is suspended for 'ditto mark' overbilling, taking credit for associate work.
A former managing partner of Ohio law firm Weston Hurd has been suspended for billing misconduct discovered after he was accused of taking credit for an associate’s work. Scott Clifford Smith was suspended for two years and ordered to pay more than $20,000 in restitution for fraudulently billing 124 hours of work, according to a Dec. 19 Ohio Supreme Court decision (PDF). The court affirmed findings by Ohio’s Board of Professional Conduct but rejected its recommended sanction of an indefinite suspension. The Legal Profession Blog published a summary from the Ohio Supreme Court’s website.
Read the opinion, it's pretty egregious: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod...-Ohio-9087.pdf
Scott and I went to law school together and graduated together. This firm I know very well and is a direct competitor of mine. All I can say is "wow". I am a little surprised that the suspension wasn't indefinite -- which leads me wondering if there's something more there.