COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court says a Salem attorney may keep practicing law, but she's been placed on probation for one year.

The state's high court on Tuesday agreed to place a stay on a one year suspension of defense lawyer Jennifer Ann Gorby, who was accused of violating the rules of professional conduct by misappropriating funds belonging to a client, and failing to inform the client that she did not have professional liability insurance.

The case arose after Gorby agreed to represent her sister and then brother-in-law in a foreclosure case. Gorby deposited some of of their money into her own business account, which violates a requirement that attorneys place funds belonging to clients into a separate trust.

Although the account was supposed to contain $5,500 of the client's money, the balance had reached a low of $96.49 at one point. However, Gorby placed enough funds in the account to cover the difference.

Gorby told the disciplinary board that her older sister expected her to provide legal services for whatever she wanted and whenever she wanted them. According to the board, Gorby felt she could not refuse her sister's demands because if she did, her sister would call and complain and harass her or their mother and “cause a big family fight and big family drama.”

Gorby said it was easier to give in to her sister's demands than to fight.

The Supreme Court agreed that since the clients were not harmed, and that Gorby's sole misconduct in her nearly 13-year legal career arose out of what the disciplinary counsel described as “a contentious family dispute” - a less serious sanction would be sufficient to protect the public and deter future misconduct.

As a result, the Supreme Court ruled that Gorby's one year suspension would be stayed on the conditions that she engage in no further misconduct and submit to a one year period of monitored probation focusing on law office and trust account management.