Debt Companies Win Unauthorized Law Practice Challenge in Ohio

Two debt-relief companies found by an Ohio legal board to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law won reversal of that decision Tuesday when the state top court found insufficient supporting evidence.

The case goes back to 2013, when the Ohio State Bar Association filed a six-count complaint with the Board on the Unauthorized Practice of Law against Nationwide Support Services Inc. and Pro-Net Financial Inc. The companies were accused of unlicensed practicing when they counseled Ohio debtors and negotiated related settlements.

The board found in August 2021 that Nationwide, Pro-Net, and Pro-Net president Andrew Bloom had improperly practiced law by counseling, advising, and negotiating debts on behalf of six Ohio customers. Pro-Net provided debt negotiation services through Nationwide, the court said.

The Ohio State Bar Association “has presented no direct evidence from any of Nationwide’s customers, their creditors, or their creditors’ counsel who participated in those alleged negotiations,” the per curiam opinion from the state top court said.

The Ohio Supreme Court said the case relied mostly on testimony from Bloom and stipulations of the Pro-Net respondents. And the evidence provided didn’t make it clear that the companies crossed the line from debt relief to providing legal assistance.

“In light of these significant evidentiary deficiencies regarding the specific actions that Nationwide undertook on behalf of its customers, we cannot find that relator has submitted sufficient sworn or certified evidence to support its motion for default against Nationwide,” according to the state supreme court.

“Nor can we find that relator has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the Pro-Net respondents engaged in the unauthorized practice of law through the actions of Nationwide,” it said.

Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Sharon L. Kennedy, R. Patrick DeWine, Michael P. Donnelly, Melody J. Stewart, and Jennifer Brunner concurred. Justice Patrick F. Fischer didn’t participate in the decision.

The relator is represented by Fanger & Associates LLC. The Pro-Net defendants are represented by McNeal, Schick, Archibald, & Biro Co. LPA.

The case is State Bar Assn. v. Pro-Net Fin. Inc., Ohio, No. 2016-1913, 3/15/22.