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"A prominent class-action attorney dubbed the \"Master of Disaster\" has informed the Ohio Supreme Court that he is retiring in the aftermath of his Kentucky disbarment.A court spokesman said Friday that Cincinnati attorney Stanley Chesley filed papers this week for his voluntary retirement from the practice of law in Ohio.He faced possible disbarment proceedings in Ohio following the Kentucky Supreme Court's order in March finding unethical conduct in the settlement of a $200 million lawsuit involving the makers of the diet pill combination fen-phen.Chesley resigned Wednesday evening from the board of trustees at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, after pressure from the board of trustees.Messages were left Friday for Chesley, a 77-year-old class action lawsuit pioneer.In one of Chesley's major cases, he won $50 million for victims of the deadly 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in northern Kentucky. Other cases included the 1980 MGM Grand hotel fire in Las Vegas, landmark national tobacco litigation, and more recently an $85 million settlement from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington, Ky., over priest sexual abuse.He also has been a prolific political fundraiser, including for Bill and Hillary Clinton.But the Kentucky Supreme Court ordered Chesley disbarred March 21, and he had until next Monday to formally notify the Ohio Supreme Court of the Kentucky action. Instead, he filed an affidavit April 16 that ended his Ohio law practice immediately.Court spokesman Chris Davey said the retirement has the same impact as disbarment because Chesley can no longer practice law in Ohio, but it avoids a process that could have taken months.\"I fully understand that my retirement or resignation is unconditional, final and irrevocable,\" his affidavit states.His affidavit was sworn before his wife, U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.The Kentucky court concluded that Chesley crossed an ethical line in settling a dispute over health effects stemming from use of the drug. The court concluded that Chesley also refused to acknowledge his conduct was wrong and had dishonest or selfish motives.Chesley recently paid $88,579 for the cost of the Kentucky investigation. It grew out of his involvement with Kentucky attorneys who were disbarred earlier. Two were convicted of scamming more than 400 clients out of millions they had won against the makers of fen-phen, which was pulled from the market in 1997 after users developed heart problems.Last week, the University of Cincinnati board asked Chesley to step down as trustee to protect the school's integrity because of the disbarment. The longtime UC benefactor didn't by the board's Monday deadline, but then submitted his resignation after the board scheduled a special meeting on the matter.Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory had encouraged Chesley to stay on the board, praising his community leadership and commitment to the university, which has an enrollment of some 42,000 students.\"Stan, ignore calls for your resignation and continue to provide your leadership to the University of Cincinnati,\" Mallory wrote in a letter to the editor in Wednesday's Cincinnati Enquirer. \"We need you there - fighting for what's right.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.wlwt.com/article/stan-chesley-retires-from-practicing-law-in-ohio/3530682>