KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION V. ZACHARY GOTTESMAN
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
TO BE PUBLISHED
osuyrmt 010urf
2007-SC-000880-KB
KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION
V.
MOVANT
IN SUPREME COURT
ZACHARY GOTTESMAN
RESPONDENT
OPINION AND ORDER
The Kentucky Bar Association (KBA) has moved this Court for an Order directing
Zachary Gottesman, whose KBA member number is 86288, to show cause why he
should not be subject to reciprocal discipline after being publicly reprimanded by the
Supreme Court of Ohio. The KBA further requested that if such cause be lacking, this
Court enter an Order pursuant to SCR 3 .435(4) publicly reprimanding Gottesman in the
Commonwealth of Kentucky. Gottesman was admitted to the practice of law in this
Commonwealth on May 31, 1996, and his last known business address is 36 East
7th
Street, Suite 2121, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45202 . Following the KBA's petition seeking a
show cause order, Gottesman filed a Notice of Consent to Reciprocal Discipline with
the Supreme Court Clerk of Kentucky, waiving his right to a show cause hearing and
consenting to the imposition of the recommended reciprocal discipline. Therefore, this
Court grants the KBA's motion and approves of the proposed public reprimand.
On July 10, 2007, the Supreme Court of Ohio entered an order publicly
reprimanding Gottesman for violating Rule DR 102 of the Ohio Code of Professional
Responsibility. The facts underlying the Ohio reprimand are as follows :
On March 14, 2006, attorney William I . Farrell went to respondent's law
office without his wife and asked respondent to notarize a power of
attorney that Farrell's wife had purportedly signed . Trusting that the
signature was genuine, respondent notarized the power of attorney,
swearing in the jurat that he had witnessed the wife's signature . In fact,
Farrell's wife had not signed the power of attorney . Farrell subsequently
used the power of attorney to obtain a line of credit, secured by the
Farrells' residence, for $75,000 . Cincinnati Bar Association v. Gottesman,
115 Ohio St.3d 222, 223, 874 N .E.2d 778, 779 (Oh. 2007) .
Following the Ohio Supreme Court's order, Gottesman self-reported his discipline to the
KBA. The KBA then filed the current petition with this Court. Four days after the KBA
filed its petition, Gottesman filed a petition consenting to the recommended reciprocal
discipline .
If an attorney who is licensed to practice law in this Commonwealth is disciplined
in another jurisdiction, SCR 3 .435(4) requires this Court to "impose the identical
discipline unless Respondent proves by substantial evidence: (a) a lack of jurisdiction
or fraud in the out-of-state disciplinary proceeding, or (b) that misconduct established
warrants substantially different discipline in this State." In addition, SCR 3.435(4)(c)
requires this Court to recognize that a final adjudication of misconduct in another
jurisdiction establishes conclusively the same misconduct for purposes of a disciplinary
proceeding in Kentucky.
The Ohio Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline found that
Gottesman's conduct violated Rule DR 102 of the Ohio Code of Professional
Responsibility, which states that "a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving
dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation ." This rule is the equivalent to SCR
2
3.130-8 .3, which states that it is misconduct for a lawyer to "engage in conduct involving
dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation ." Since Gottesman has been disciplined
by the Supreme Court of Ohio, and since Gottesman's actions are also governed by the
Rules of Professional Conduct in this Commonwealth, Gottesman is subject to a Public
Reprimand pursuant to SCR 3.435(4) .
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that:
1 . Zachary Gottesman, KBA member number 86288, is adjudicated guilty of
unprofessional conduct based on the facts set out in KBA file 15875 .
2 . Zachary Gottesman, is publicly reprimanded for his conduct.
3 . Pursuant to SCR 3.450, Respondent is directed to pay the costs associated
with this proceeding, for which execution may issue from this Court upon
finality of this Opinion and Order.
All sitting . All concur.
Entered January 24, 2008 .
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.