SALEM Supreme Court suspends attorney

Bowman objected to the suspension, which could be reduced to six months.
By MICHELE C. HLADIK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Salem attorney Scott Bowman was suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday from practicing law for one year for misconduct involving his grandfather's estate.
Six months of the suspension will be stayed if Bowman does not further violate the "Code of Professional Responsibility" and pays the cost of the disciplinary proceedings.
Bowman was found in violation of several rules of conduct including engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, engaging in conduct adversely reflecting on fitness to practice law, and failing to deposit and keep client funds in separate identifiable bank account.
"[Bowman's] negotiation of seven separate estate checks to withdraw $86,000 for attorney and executor fees without securing the approval of the probate court or filing an accounting is a serious offense," read the court's official decision.
Joined law firm
Bowman joined the law firm of his grandfather George H. Bowman Jr. in mid-1992 and by the end of the year had taken over the firm and served as the retired lawyer's attorney.
After the elder Bowman died in 2000, Bowman was approved to administer the estate in accordance with a will signed in 1997, but after disputes and debates with an aunt, Constance Rowe, he agreed to withdraw as administrator in favor of the elder Bowman's 1992 will and 1995 codicils.
According to the high court's written decision, it was during his term as administrator that Bowman advanced himself $86,000 for attorney and administrator fees.
After reaching agreements with Rowe, Bowman was allowed to keep the $86,000 for his fees during the time he served as his grandfather's attorney.
According to the written decision, Bowman had no prior disciplinary problems, the money was accounted for and no civil or criminal charges had been filed in the case.
Bowman's community involvement, including serving for two years as an assistant city solicitor, a volunteer for the Salem Planning and Zoning Committee, the Boy Scouts, and the Rotary Club, weighed in the decision to stay the six months of the suspension.
Attorney's objection
Bowman objected to the suspension, the high court's decision read.
"Although [Bowman] stipulated to the facts, the violations, and the recommended sanction, [he] now objects to the board's report and recommendation," the decision read. "[Bowman] argues that an actual suspension is not warranted because his actions constituted an isolated incident in an otherwise unblemished career and were not intended to deceive, defraud, or misrepresent."
But the high court agreed to the findings and sanctions recommended by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline.
& quot;He clearly knew that he was mishandling his grandfather's estate," the decision stated.
The unanimous decision included Judge Mike Fain of the Second Appellate District, who sat in on the case for Justice Deborah Cook.
Bowman was represented in the matter by Kenneth Donchatz, a Columbus-area attorney.
Donchatz was unavailable to comment on the decision.