A Parma attorney, Gary A. Vick Jr., has been disbarred by the Supreme Court of Ohio for multiple ethics violations and neglecting client matters. The court found that Vick continued to engage in behaviors similar to those that led to his indefinite suspension in July 2022. These included accepting fees from clients without completing the agreed work and failing to cooperate with disciplinary investigations.
The court's opinion highlighted that in December 2022, Vick was convicted of grand theft due to his actions involving six clients. His criminal activities mainly took place between 2018 and 2020, resulting in a trial court ordering him to pay $19,000 in restitution. "A lawyer’s acceptance of payment and then failing to carry out the work is tantamount to theft of the fee from the client," stated the court.
Efforts by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel alongside the Board of Professional Conduct were underway before Vick's felony conviction, which led to an interim suspension. After his conviction, disciplinary counsel sought permanent disbarment for Vick.
Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy and Justices Patrick F. Fischer, R. Patrick DeWine, Michael P. Donnelly, Melody Stewart, and Joseph T. Deters supported the opinion, while Justice Jennifer Brunner did not participate.
The misconduct also involved two former clients who were victims in his criminal case: Leah Lupica and Reginald Campbell. In 2020, Lupica hired Vick for a child-support matter but received no further action after paying a flat fee of $3,500. Similarly, Campbell paid $2,500 for representation in a DUI case but experienced minimal communication and misleading information from Vick.
In another case involving Dan Rector's auto accident lawsuit filed by Vick in August 2017, deadlines were missed leading to dismissal due to procedural grounds despite appeals efforts by Vick.
Vick's lack of cooperation during disciplinary proceedings resulted in sanctions beyond just client-related offenses; he had yet to reimburse Allison Rerko—another affected client—for whom $5,000 was paid by the Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection.
"Vick’s misconduct combined with his complete failure to cooperate in the resulting disciplinary proceedings led the Court to impose the ultimate sanction of permanent disbarment," stated the opinion. Additionally ordered was reimbursement for legal fund expenses along with covering costs related directly towards this process itself.