Former solicitor-general suspended for 2 years after violent outburst

A Warren County The lawyer has been suspended from practicing law for two years after assaulting two women in a violent, alcohol-fueled outburst.

Ohio Supreme Court suspend William McClain, a former general counsel for the Air Force Base’s 88th Wing, for two years with credit for the suspension he has already served.

McClain, who lives in Franklin, Ohio, the court said, was provisionally suspended from March 2023, a month after he was convicted of aggravated assault and inducing panic, both felonies.

McClain’s October 2022 night out with his fiancee, her daughter and two other women ended with him chasing the women around his neighborhood with a gun.

right courtMcClain assaulted his fiancee in a bar parking lot. The women left the bar without McClain, but eventually took their fiancée back to the home they shared. The women attempted to remove McClain’s numerous guns from his home, leading to an argument. The lawyer assaulted his fiancee’s daughter, who then stabbed him in the torso with a kitchen knife.

All four women ran from the house and McClain chased them with a gun. He held his fiancee and her daughter at gunpoint, but they managed to escape. He fired a single shot into the air and went home, the court heard.

Police, the Warren County Tactical Response Unit and a SWAT team had to fire tear gas canisters into the home to get McClain to surrender.

He pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault and inducing panic, misdemeanor assault, domestic violence and operating a weapon while intoxicated. McClain was sentenced to three years of community control, allowing him to stay out of prison while under the supervision of a court. He was also required to undergo mental health and substance abuse counseling.

According to the opinion, McClain served as a judge advocate general at Wright Patterson Air Force Base before the attacks on Oct. 29, 2022. In that position, he provided legal support to Air Force officers, airmen, civilians and others. The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct said he served honorably in the U.S. Army since age 18.

The board concluded that McClain’s violent outburst was caused by excessive alcohol consumption and untreated mental health issues. In their recommendation that McClain be suspended for two years, including time served, the board also said he has undergone mental health and alcohol treatment and has been sober since his arrest. The board said that “when sober, (McClain) is a respectful and compassionate person, a loving father and a hardworking and talented attorney.”

The court agreed with the board’s recommendation that McClain be suspended for two years with credit for time already suspended, meaning his suspension will be lifted in March 2025. He will also have to meet five requirements for to be reinstated, which include serving the terms of his criminal sentence, mental health treatment, and more.

This article originally appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer: The former Ohio solicitor general was suspended after the assault

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