KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION V. WILLIAM J. GRIDER
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
'*UyrrMr Courf of
2010-SC-000522-KB
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
V.
TO BE PUBLISHED
DATE
MOVANT
IN SUPREME COURT
WILLIAM J. GRIDER
RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
Respondent, William J . Grider, stands accused of violating several
provisions of the Rules of Professional Responsibility for continuing to
represent a client while suspended from the practice of law. The Board of
Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association has recommended that
Respondent, who was admitted to practice law in Kentucky in 1994, whose Bar
Roster Address is 121 Republic Plaza, 200 South 7th Street, Louisville,
Kentucky 40202, and whose KBA Member Number is 85171, be found to have
committed the ethical violations and be suspended from the practice of law in
this Commonwealth for one year. This Court, finding no reason for further
review, adopts the recommendation of the Board.
On January 15, 2009, Respondent was suspended from the practice of
law for failing to comply with continuing legal education requirements . The
Office of Bar Counsel objected to his automatic reinstatement, presumably
upon his satisfaction of the CLE requirements, because of pending disciplinary
matters. On May 21, 2009, he was suspended for a fixed term (30 days) for
disciplinary reasons. Kentucky Bar Association v. Grider, 282 S.W.3d 330 (Ky.
2009) . He has not yet been reinstated to the practice of law from this
suspension .
Prior to his suspension, Respondent had been hired to represent George
Amos in a domestic case in Jefferson Circuit Court. On February 19, 2009, he
attended a mediation session and signed a mediation agreement on behalf of
his client . On May 26, 2009, he filed a trial memorandum on behalf of his
client. Respondent was still suspended from the practice of law on both
occasions.
Respondent failed to reply to a request for information from the Office of
Bar Counsel, to the Inquiry Commission's complaint against him, and to the
subsequent charge, despite the fact that the latter two were personally served
on him by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. Respondent still has not
responded to the charge.
The Charge alleged violations of SCR 3 .130-5 .5(a)l for continuing to
practice law after suspension of his license to do so; SCR 3 .130-3 .4(c)2 for
practicing law in direct disobedience of this Court's order of suspension ; and
SCR 3 .130-8 .1(b) 3 for failing to respond to the informational request from the
Office of Bar Counsel, the complaint, and the charge.
1 At the time of the violations, SCR 3.130-5.5(a) stated: "A lawyer shall not . . . [p]ractice
law in a jurisdiction in violation of the regulation of the legal profession in that
jurisdiction . . . ."
a At the time of the violations SCR 3.130-3 .4(c) stated: "A lawyer shall not . . .
knowingly or intentionally disobey an obligation under the rules of a tribunal except
for an open refusal based on an assertion that no valid obligation exists . . . ."
s At the time of the violations, SCR 3 .130-8 .1(b) stated in relevant part: "[A] lawyer . . .
in connection with a disciplinary matter . . . shall not . . . knowingly fail to respond to a
2
The Board of Governors voted unanimously to find Respondent guilty on
all three counts of the charge. Before voting on a recommended sanction, the
Board reviewed Respondent's disciplinary history, which included the following:
a private admonition in 2004 for violating SCR 3 .130-1 .4(a) and -1 .16(d) ; a
thirty-day suspension in 2009 for violations of SCR 3.130-1 .3, -1 .4(a), and 1 .16(d); and a continuing suspension since January 2009 for failing to comply
with CLE requirements . After hearing of this history, the Board voted
unanimously to recommend that Respondent be suspended for one year and be
required to pay costs.
No review of the Board's recommendation, as allowed under SCR
3 .370(8), was sought. Because the Board's findings and conclusions are
supported by the record and the law, and because the recommended sanction
is appropriate in light of Respondent's history of prior discipline and the
seriousness of the charges, this Court elects not to review the recommendation
of the Board as allowed under to SCR 3.370(9). The recommendation of the
Board is therefore adopted pursuant to SCR 3.370(10) .
ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
(1)
Respondent, William J . Grider, is suspended from the practice of
law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for one year from the date of this Order.
(2)
Pursuant to SCR 3 .390, Respondent shall, within ten days from
the entry of this Opinion and Order, notify all of his clients in writing of his
inability to continue to represent them and of the necessity and urgency of
lawful demand for information from a() . . . disciplinary authority, except that this Rule
does not require disclosure of information otherwise protected by Rule 1 .6."
3
promptly retaining new counsel, and notify all courts in which he has matters
pending of his suspension from the practice of law, and simultaneously furnish
copies of all such letters of notice to the Director of the Kentucky Bar
Association. Furthermore, to the extent possible, Respondent shall
immediately cancel and cease any advertising activities in which he is engaged .
(3)
In accordance with SCR 3.450, Respondent is directed to pay all
costs associated with these disciplinary proceedings against him, said sum
being $459 .80, for which execution may issue from this Court upon finality of
this Opinion and Order.
All sitting. All concur.
ENTERED : October 21, 2010 .
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
