Section 2 - Board of Commissioners of the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection of the Supreme Court of Ohio; Director; Chair(A)Creation; Members. There is hereby created a Board of Commissioners of the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection of the Supreme Court of Ohio consisting of seven members appointed by the Supreme Court, at least one of whom shall be a person not admitted to the practice of law in Ohio or any other state. The Court shall designate one member as chair and one member as vice-chair, who shall hold such office for the length of their term. All terms shall be for a period of three years commencing on the first day of January. No member shall serve more than two consecutive three-year terms. The Board shall have its principal office in Columbus.(B)Director. There shall be a Director of the Board of Commissioners of the Lawyers' Fund for Client Protection. The Court shall appoint and fix the salary of the Director. The Director shall be an attorney admitted to practice in Ohio and shall not engage in the private practice of law while serving in that capacity. The Director shall be the secretary to the Board. The Director shall appoint, with the approval of the Court, staff as required to satisfactorily perform the duties imposed by this rule. The Court shall fix the compensation of staff employed by the Director.(C)Powers of the Board. The Board shall do all of the following: (1) Investigate applications by claimants for disbursement from the fund;(2) Conduct hearings relative to claims;(3) Authorize and establish the amount of disbursements from the fund in accordance with this rule;(4) Adopt rules of procedure and prescribe forms not inconsistent with this rule.(D)Powers of the chair.(1) The chair of the Board shall be the trustee of the fund and shall hold, manage, disburse, and invest the fund, or any portion of the fund, in a manner consistent with the effective administration of this rule. All investments shall be made by the chair upon the approval of a majority of the Board. Investments shall be limited to short-term insured obligations of the United States government, deposits at interest in federally insured banks or federally insured savings and loan institutions located in the state of Ohio, and in no-front-end-load money market mutual funds consisting exclusively of direct obligations of the United States Treasury, and repurchase agreements relating to direct Treasury obligations, with the interest or other income on investments becoming part of the fund. Annually and at additional times as the Supreme Court may order, the chair shall file with the Supreme Court a written report reviewing in detail the administration of the fund during the year. The fund shall be audited biennially by the Auditor of State at the same time as the Supreme Court's regular biennial audit. The Supreme Court may order an additional audit at any time, certified by a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Ohio. Audit reports shall be filed with the Board, which shall send a copy to the Supreme Court. The report shall be open to public inspection at the offices of the Board.(2) The chair and vice-chair of the Board shall file a bond annually with the Supreme Court in an amount fixed by the Supreme Court.(3) The chair of the Board shall have the power and duty to render decisions on procedural matters presented by the Board and call additional meetings of the Board when necessary.(4) The vice-chair of the Board shall exercise the duties of the chair during any absence or incapacity of the chair.(E) Meetings. The Board shall meet at least two times a year and at other times as the chair designates.(F)Attendance. The director of the Board shall notify the Chief Justice and the Administrative Director of the Supreme Court if a commissioner misses three meetings of the Board within a twelve-month period. Upon such notice, the Administrative Director shall inform the Justices of the Supreme Court in order that the Justices may consider the replacement of the commissioner.(G) Expenses. Expenses for the operation of the Board as authorized by this rule shall be paid from the fund, including bond premiums, the cost of audits, personnel, office space, supplies, equipment, travel, and other expenses of Board members.Amended March 8, 2022, effective 3/21/2022; amended October 12, 2023, effective 12/1/2023; amended October 15, 2024, effective 10/15/2024.