← LexyCorpus index

LexyCorpus case page

CourtListener opinion 2828339

Date unknown · US

Extracted case name
MEDINA COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION v. SHIRER
Extracted reporter citation
pending
Docket / number
pending
QDRO relevance 5/5Retirement relevance 5/5Family-law relevance 5/5gold label pending
Research-use warning: This page contains machine-draft public annotations generated from public opinion text. The headnote is not Willie-approved gold-label work product and is not legal advice. Verify the full opinion and current law before relying on it.

Machine-draft headnote

Machine-draft public headnote: CourtListener opinion 2828339 is included in the LexyCorpus QDRO sample set as a public CourtListener opinion with relevance to pension / defined benefit issues. The current annotation is conservative: it identifies source provenance, relevance signals, and evidence quotes for attorney/agent retrieval. It is not a Willie-approved legal headnote yet.

Retrieval annotation

Draft retrieval summary: this opinion has QDRO relevance score 5/5, retirement-division score 5/5, and family-law score 5/5. Use the quoted text and full opinion below before relying on the case.

Category: pension / defined benefit issues

Evidence quotes

QDRO

ith professional misconduct in one client matter. Relator alleged that Shirer was retained by a client to obtain the dissolution of her marriage. Relator claimed that SUPREME COURT OF OHIO Shirer failed to file an agreed qualified domestic-relations order ("QDRO") with the domestic-relations court and with the entity that administered the pension of his client's ex-husband. Many years later, Shirer's client had to retain a new attorney to file the QDRO and to represent her when her former husband disputed that some of the retirement benefits existed at the time of the divorce. {¶ 2} A panel of the Board of Commiss

retirement benefits

h the domestic-relations court and with the entity that administered the pension of his client's ex-husband. Many years later, Shirer's client had to retain a new attorney to file the QDRO and to represent her when her former husband disputed that some of the retirement benefits existed at the time of the divorce. {¶ 2} A panel of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline1 considered the cause on the parties' consent-to-discipline agreement. See BCGD Proc.Reg. 11.2 {¶ 3} In the consent-to-discipline agreement, Shirer stipulates to the facts alleged in relator's complaint and agrees that his conduct violated DR 6- 1

pension

etained by a client to obtain the dissolution of her marriage. Relator claimed that SUPREME COURT OF OHIO Shirer failed to file an agreed qualified domestic-relations order ("QDRO") with the domestic-relations court and with the entity that administered the pension of his client's ex-husband. Many years later, Shirer's client had to retain a new attorney to file the QDRO and to represent her when her former husband disputed that some of the retirement benefits existed at the time of the divorce. {¶ 2} A panel of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline1 considered the cause on the parties' consent-to-d

Source and provenance

Source type
courtlistener_qdro_opinion_full_text
Permissions posture
public
Generated status
machine draft public v0
Review status
gold label pending
Jurisdiction metadata
US
Deterministic extraction
pending
Generated at
May 14, 2026

Related public corpus pages

Deterministic links based on shared title/citation terms and QDRO / retirement / family-law retrieval scores.

Clean opinion text

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as
Medina Cty. Bar Assn. v. Shirer, Slip Opinion No. 2015-Ohio-3289.]

 NOTICE
 This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in
 an advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested
 to promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio,
 65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or
 other formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be
 made before the opinion is published.

 SLIP OPINION NO. 2015-OHIO-3289
 MEDINA COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION v. SHIRER.
 [Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it
 may be cited as Medina Cty. Bar Assn. v. Shirer, Slip Opinion No.
 2015-Ohio-3289.]
Attorneys at law—Misconduct—Neglect of an entrusted legal matter—Public
 reprimand.
 (No. 2014-2153—Submitted January 14, 2015—Decided August 19, 2015.)
 ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and
 Discipline of the Supreme Court, No. 2014-060.
 _______________________
 Per Curiam.
 {¶ 1} Respondent, Albert Duane Shirer of Medina, Ohio, Attorney
Registration No. 0062670, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 1994.
On September 3, 2014, relator, Medina County Bar Association, charged Shirer
with professional misconduct in one client matter. Relator alleged that Shirer was
retained by a client to obtain the dissolution of her marriage. Relator claimed that
 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO

Shirer failed to file an agreed qualified domestic-relations order ("QDRO") with
the domestic-relations court and with the entity that administered the pension of
his client's ex-husband. Many years later, Shirer's client had to retain a new
attorney to file the QDRO and to represent her when her former husband disputed
that some of the retirement benefits existed at the time of the divorce.
 {¶ 2} A panel of the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and
Discipline1 considered the cause on the parties' consent-to-discipline agreement.
See BCGD Proc.Reg. 11.2
 {¶ 3} In the consent-to-discipline agreement, Shirer stipulates to the facts
alleged in relator's complaint and agrees that his conduct violated DR 6-
101(A)(3) of the Code of Professional Responsibility (prohibiting neglect of an
entrusted legal matter).3
 {¶ 4} The parties stipulate that applicable mitigating factors include the
absence of a prior disciplinary record, the absence of a dishonest or selfish
motive, Shirer's cooperative attitude toward the disciplinary proceedings, and
evidence of his good character or reputation. See BCGD Proc.Reg. 10(B)(2)(a),
(b), (d), and (e).4 We agree with the panel's and the board's determinations that
Shirer's payment of $800 to the client's current attorney, while not constituting
"restitution" in the true sense of the word, nevertheless was an effort to rectify the
consequences of Shirer's misconduct and qualifies as a mitigating factor. See
BCGD Proc.Reg. 10(B)(2)(c). The parties agree that there are no aggravating
factors. Based upon Shirer's stipulated misconduct and these factors, the parties
stipulate that the appropriate sanction is a public reprimand.
1
 Effective January 1, 2015, the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline has been
renamed the Board of Professional Conduct. See Gov.Bar R. V(1)(A), 140 Ohio St.3d CII.
2
 Effective January 1, 2015, Gov.Bar R. V(16), 140 Ohio St.3d CXXX, governs consent-to-
discipline agreements.
3
 The Code of Professional Responsibility applies to attorney misconduct occurring prior to
February 1, 2007.
4
 Effective January 1, 2015, the aggravating and mitigating factors previously set forth in BCGD
Proc.Reg. 10(B) are codified in Gov.Bar R. V(13), 140 Ohio St.3d CXXIV.

 2
 January Term, 2015

 {¶ 5} The panel and board found that the consent-to-discipline agreement
conforms to BCGD Proc.Reg. 11 and recommend that we adopt the agreement in
its entirety.
 {¶ 6} We agree that Shirer violated DR 6-101(A)(3) and that this conduct
warrants a public reprimand. Therefore, we adopt the parties' consent-to-
discipline agreement.
 {¶ 7} Accordingly, Albert Duane Shirer is hereby publicly reprimanded.
Costs are taxed to Shirer.
 Judgment accordingly.
 O'CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, O'DONNELL, LANZINGER, KENNEDY,
FRENCH, and O'NEILL, JJ., concur.
 __________________
 Patricia A. Walker, Bar Counsel; and Jeandrevin & Parker, L.L.C., and
Andrew M. Parker, for relator.
 Bruce Hall Co., L.P.A., and Bruce E. Hall, for respondent.
 ______________________

 3