On September 15, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio, in a Notice, suspended Canton attorney, Seth Walter Arkow, from the practice of law for two years.

The case is entitled, “Stark County Bar Association v. Arkow” with Case #2022-Ohio-3209.

The charges cited rules R.1.3, 1.4(a)(3), 1.4(a)(4), and 8.4(c) of Rules of Professional Conduct, which require,  

A lawyer to act with reasonable diligence in representing a client.

A lawyer to keep a client reasonably informed about the status of a matter.

A lawyer to comply as soon as practicable with reasonable requests for information from the client.

Prohibiting a lawyer from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.

The rules of professional conduct can be found online. 

The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing:

In a December 2021 complaint, the relator, Stark County Bar Association, alleged that Arkow neglected two client matters failed to reasonably communicate with those clients about the status of the matters, lied to one of those clients about the status of her matter, and made false statement s of material fact to the relator.

A three-member panel of the Board of Professional Conduct was appointed to hear the case. The parties submitted stipulations of fact, misconduct, and aggravating and mitigating factors. They recommended that Arkow be suspended from the practice of law for two years, with the second year conditionally stayed, and that he be required to serve one year of monitored probation. Based on the stipulations and Arkow’s hearing testimony, the panel found that Arkow committed the charged misconduct.

The filing states:

‘In October 2021, relator deposed Arkow. Before relator commenced its questioning, Arkow admitted for the first time that he had not timely transmitted Hall’s payment and documents to QDRO Group and that he had misrepresented his actions to both Hall and relator. He then confirmed those actions under oath.’

The filing continues:

‘In March 2020, another of Arkow’s clients, Kayla Kimble, paid him$400 to finalize a QDRO. But Arkow never submitted her paperwork to QDRO Group for processing. Although Kimble inquired about the status of the QDRO several times over the next eight months, Arkow responded just once to falsely inform her, “Just got word, looks like they are catching up. I should have something for you to sign next week.”After Kimble filed a June 2021 grievance against Arkow and obtained new counsel to finalize the QDRO, Arkow refunded her $400 payment.’

The filing further alleges:

‘Although Arkow acknowledged that his only responsibility with respect to the QDROs was to pay a fee and send the required documents to QDRO Group so that the company’s experts could prepare the required order, he testified that he had“procrastinated working on QDROs” because he had never fully understood them and had been afraid that he would“mess them up.”

The filing additionally notes:

‘In the wake of this disciplinary proceeding, Arkow has taken some affirmative action to change his behavior: he has started using an office – management software program to help him stay organized and on task, and in the summer of 2021, he commenced therapy to address his procrastination. His therapist submitted a written report stating that she had diagnosed him with adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood and that she saw him 11 times from August 2021 through April 2022. The therapist reported that Arkow was “ intent on working to make genuine and true change to his thinking and behavior” and was “ making good progress in therapy.”

The Board found that Arkow’s misconduct was most similar to that in K 124 N.E.3d 819 .arp, 156 Ohio St.3d 218, 2018 – Ohio – 5212, where Karp failed to timely file a work – visa petition for a client, failed to reasonably consult with the client about the means by which her objectives were to be accomplished, and failed to explain the matter to the extent reasonably necessary to permit her to make informed decisions. He also engaged in a pattern of misrepresentations in which he lied to his client, her employer, the relator, and the federal government. In addition to that misconduct, Karp commingled personal and client funds in his client trust account.  In Conclusion to the matter, the court ruled against the respondent.

The Disposition states that:

“Accordingly, Seth Walter Arkow is suspended from the practice of law for two years, with one year stayed on the conditions that he commit no further misconduct and continue to engage in regular mental – health treatment as recommended by his therapist or another qualified healthcare professional. If Arkow fails to comply with either condition of the stay, the stay will be lifted and he will serve the full two-year suspension.”

Prior to his suspension, Mr. Arkow is listed on the website of law firm, Canton Law Firm as a practicing attorney. He attended Univesity’s College of Law, graduating in 1994. Arkow practices in Canton, Ohio with license #0069103. His info can be found online.

A copy of the Original filing can be found here.