Missed renewal fee costs councilman his law license
Two weeks before the Nov. 3 election, City Councilman David Oh's law license was suspended because he failed to pay the $200 renewal fee to the state Disciplinary Board.
Two weeks before the Nov. 3 election, City Councilman David Oh's law license was suspended because he failed to pay the $200 renewal fee to the state Disciplinary Board.
Oh, a Republican seeking his second term, on Friday said he couldn't recall whether he had seen any late notices but that the renewal wasn't a priority because he isn't actively practicing law.
"The law license and keeping it up is not something of great value to me," Oh said. "So if [the renewal] was across my desk, I probably would have done it. If I was aware of it, I put it some place else. It wasn't important to me."
The Oct. 21 suspension is the latest bump in what has been a rocky road to reelection for Oh. He and incumbent Councilman Dennis O'Brien were not backed by their party in the May primary.
Since then, Oh was called out and fined $2,000 by the city's Board of Ethics for directing a supporter to make an illegal campaign contribution. (Oh said he misunderstood the campaign finance laws.) Earlier this month, a disagreement over who botched the wording of a fund-raising email had both Oh and his campaign consultant complaining to the Ethics Board.
Oh and five others are vying for the two at-large Council seats reserved for minority parties.
Oh has been a lawyer for over two decades and managed a solo firm for 18 years, according to his campaign website, which highlights his background in law. In 2008, his firm merged with the firm Zarwin, Baum, DeVito, Kaplan, Schaer, & Toddy. Oh said he left that firm about a year ago to devote more time to his work as a councilman.
The $200 renewal fee Oh failed to pay is charged annually by the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to each of the state's approximately 65,000 lawyers. Notices of renewal were sent in May, with fees due July 1, according to board secretary Elaine Bixler. Bixler said follow-up notices were also sent letting those who hadn't paid know their license was in jeopardy.
This year, about 650 failed to pay and had an administrative suspension placed on their licenses.
Bixler said that with added late fees, Oh would need to pay $800 to have the suspension lifted. On Friday, Oh shrugged that off as not a big deal, saying it would take him "about an hour."
As another option, Oh could have paid a $70 annual fee to have his license placed in an inactive status.
Oh said he had not made a deliberate decision against that option or against paying the $200 renewal fee.
"I'm an attorney of over 25 years. I know what needs to be done," he said. "And notices can come and go, but I have other important things to do. So it was not something that I was going to handle or chase after."
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