Page 10 - March-April-CBA-Report

Reevaluating the Rules:
New Amendments to Ohio Bar Character & Fitness Requirements Update Evaluation Process
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THE REPORT | March/April 2023 | CincyBar.org
As every licensed Ohio attorney knows, in order to be approved to practice law in this state—whether by motion or by examination—one must first participate in a rigorous vetting process. Applicants must submit to finger printing, provide multiple recommendations, and disclose detailed minutiae about academic and employment histories, financial records, criminal backgrounds, and, until recently, information about their mental and psychological medical history (more on this below). After completing these comprehensive disclosures, applicants must then be interviewed by two members of the Ohio bar—complete strangers tasked with assessing each applicant’s vaguely defined “character, fitness, and moral qualifications.”
This individualized vetting system is a valuable and worth- while component of Ohio’s bar application process – it helps ensure that each attorney authorized to practice law in Ohio is one whose record of conduct warrants the respect of the courts, clients, and fellow attorneys. At the same time, there is no denying that the character and fitness evaluation process is intimidating for applicants and for some, can be downright frightening. After all, to be judged on objective criteria is one thing, but to stake one’s career prospects on a notion as subjective (and hotly contested) as morality is quite another.
By David F. Hine and Petra G. Bergman
For the same reason, the process can be trying for those members of the bar who conduct character and fitness evaluations. Pursuant to Rule I, Section 13 of the Rules for the Government of the Bar of the State of Ohio, the president of each local bar associ- ation shall appoint an admissions committee comprising at least three people who are responsible for investigating “the character, fitness, and moral qualifications of applicants for admission to the practice of law” and for reporting their “findings and recommen- dations to the Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness.” The Cincinnati Bar Association’s admissions committee, currently chaired by Drew Hicks (Senior Litigation Counsel at Cintas Corporation), comprises several dozen Cincinnati-area attor- neys. Before scheduling and conducting the required character and fitness interviews, these volunteers spend countless hours poring over voluminous application files and separate background reports generated by the National Conference of Bar Examiners for each applicant. Members of the admissions committee try to reach the appropriate conclusion and to make the best recommen- dation they can, but it is not always easy to determine what should and should not be considered, nor is always clear what conduct (or misconduct) can be excused and what cannot.