Disciplinary Counsel v. Gildee, 134 Ohio St. 3d 374

Respondent Eva C. Gildee, Ohio attorney since 2000, faced a two-count misconduct complaint.
She represented a client on a 1/3 contingent-fee in a commercial lease dispute; settlement provided $32,500 plus future lease-payment-based sums.
Gildee allegedly failed to deposit all lease payments into a client trust account and misappropriated $8,347.60.
She created and backdated a letter in 2010 to misrepresent actions taken regarding fees and client communications.
She later failed to remit portions of a fee award and fabricated communications to Relator about payments.
The Board recommended a two-year suspension with one year stayed, conditioned on restitution of $11,290.98 and no further misconduct.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Misappropriation of client funds and trust-account violations	Gildee misappropriated funds and failed to deposit them properly	Gildee disputes the extent of misappropriation and asserts mitigation	Suspension for two years with one year stayed; restitution required
Dishonesty in disciplinary matter and false statements	Gildee made false statements about applying payments and backdated letters	Gildee contends no intent to deceive or argues mitigating factors	Violation of 8.1, 8.4; sanction upheld as part of broader discipline

Disciplinary Counsel v. Burchinal, 133 Ohio St.3d 38, 2012-Ohio-3882 (Ohio Supreme Court 2012) (presumptive disbarment for misappropriation tempered by mitigating factors in special circumstances)
Cleveland Metro. Bar Assn. v. Mishler, 127 Ohio St.3d 336, 2010-Ohio-5987 (Ohio Supreme Court 2010) (mitigating and aggravating factors inform sanction in misconduct)
Toledo Bar Assn. v. Weisberg, 124 Ohio St.3d 274, 2010-Ohio-142 (Ohio Supreme Court 2010) (consideration of aggravating/mitigating factors in disciplinary sanctions)
Disciplinary Counsel v. Claflin, 107 Ohio St.3d 31, 2005-Ohio-5827 (Ohio Supreme Court 2005) (solitary-event misconduct may warrant lesser sanction than disbarment)