How a Butler County attorney went from a 'very good lawyer' to convicted felon

A Hamilton-based attorney who admitted stealing money from clients was sentenced on Wednesday to five years of probation.

But just how did a once-reputable public defender and personal injury lawyer become a convicted felon? Court documents reveal that it didn't happen overnight, but over a period of years.

How did Adams steal from clients?

The charges against 52-year-old Dennis Lee Adams arose from separate cases and involved his work representing two clients from whom he stole more than $13,000.

He pleaded guilty in October in Butler County Common Pleas Court to two counts of theft, one count for each case, and has since paid full restitution to his former clients.

In the first case, Adams held on to and spent $12,492 in settlement funds belonging to Teresa McAdams, whom he had represented in a personal injury case.

McAdams entered into a contingency fee agreement with Adams in 2017, meaning that the lawyer wouldn't be paid unless McAdams won her suit, which provided that Adams would receive 33% of any settlement money.

Adams represented McAdams and her husband in a suit over injuries she sustained during an automobile collision, documents filed with the Ohio Supreme Court show. The couple settled a year later with the other driver in the crash for $22,000.

Adams was supposed to use that money to pay off a Medicare lien McAdams had incurred and place the remainder in his trust account to finance the couple’s ongoing claim against Allstate Corp, Ohio Supreme Court records show.

Instead, Adams used that money to write checks to himself and his law firm that amounted to more than what he was owed for his contingency fee. He never attempted to give McAdams her settlement nor did he pay off her debt to Medicare.

Adams also moved to dismiss the lawsuit against Allstate and didn’t inform his client, the documents state. He didn’t tell them he failed to refile the suit within the one-year time limit established under state law.

By October 2020, the attorney's trust account had been depleted to just $231 after his payments to himself and on other clients’ behalf.

Prosecutors said some of the settlement proceeds were used for purchases at Delta Vacations and Delta Air, the Liberty Township Cinebistro, a business called "Guns Unlimited," and a golf cart dealer, among others.

The second case against Adams involved a client he was representing in an aggravated theft case. That client, George Galliher, pleaded guilty in April 2018 to a lesser charge of theft and was ordered to pay restitution to the Cabela's store in West Chester Township, court records show.

The money Adams took from Galliher was supposed to be used toward restitution payments to the sporting goods retailer.

"I think it really just boils down to a choice to keep all their money and do what he saw fit with it," Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Garrett Baker said of Adams' thefts.

Related: Ex-attorney, one-time congressional candidate accused of fraud, identity theft

Other alleged infractions lead to indefinite suspension

In a June filing, the Board of Professional Conduct of the Ohio Supreme Court recommended Adams be permanently disbarred for infractions involving the misuse of funds belonging to McAdams and other clients.

Adams “misappropriated at least $26,000 belonging to three clients while neglecting to carry through to conclusion the legal work he contracted to handle on their behalf, and by failing to carry out his commitments to pay liens against their settlement moneys, thus causing them further harm,” the board wrote.

Adams' law license has been suspended since late last year.

What are the conditions of Adams' probation?

As part of his sentence, Adams must also serve 500 hours of community service. He could be incarcerated for as long as two years if he violates the conditions of his probation.

Adams declined to make a statement in court during Wednesday's hearing.

"He's always been a very good lawyer," said David Washington Jr., Adams' lawyer, who said he's known Adams for nearly two decades. "I still consider him to be a good man who was going through some tough times."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How Hamilton attorney went from 'very good lawyer' to convicted felon