WILMINGTON — A local attorney facing an ethics complaint submitted an application to retire or resign from practicing law.

Richard Federle, an attorney and sometimes court-appointed legal counsel from Wilmington, submitted the application Wednesday to the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

A two-day hearing was originally scheduled to begin Wednesday.

According to records from the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct, “further proceedings in this matter shall be stayed pending further order from the Supreme Court.”

Federle’s attorney, Alvin Matthews, had no comment Thursday due to this being a pending action.

He did tell the News Journal that such decisions are up to the Ohio Supreme Court. “When a lawyer decides to retire or resign, they submit their application to Ohio Supreme Court. They have to decide whether or not to approve,” said Matthews.

In October, a 42-page ethics complaint was filed by Disciplinary Counsel to the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme Court of Ohio. The complaint alleges Federle “has violated the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct by engaging in inappropriate communications and conduct with female court staff and clients.”

The complaint details alleged incidents between Federle and six clients/would-be clients over parts of 15 years, including many pages of text messages and social media exchanges allegedly between Federle and the women.