November 2015 Discipline

Louisiana State SealThese lawyers were the subject of Louisiana Supreme Court disciplinary orders or Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommendations that were made public during the month of November 2015.

Louisiana Supreme Court

  1. Satrica Williams-Bensaadat. The court suspended the respondent from the practice of law for one year, with all but six months deferred. The respondent failed to timely endorse a settlement check for a client, sent a demand letter directly to a former client threatening to sue her for fees even though she knew that the former client was represented by counsel, and falsely informed the ODC and falsely testified at a hearing that she had not attempted to correspond directly with her former client. For more information, see here.
  2. William Harrell Arata. The court accepted the a joint petition for consent discipline, and suspended the respondent from the practice of law for a year and a day, with all but six months deferred.
  3. Matthew B. Collins, Jr. The court accepted a joint petition for consent discipline, and suspended the respondent from the practice of law for six months, deferred in its entirety provided that the respondent be placed on a six-month period of probation. ODC had commenced an investigation into allegations that the respondent neglected a legal matter, causing his client’s lawsuit to be dismissed as abandoned, and failed to communicate with the client.
  4. Laura J. Johnson. The court ordered that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law on an interim basis pursuant to Supreme Court Rule XIX, § 19.2.
  5. Twilia A. Andrews. The court granted the respondent’s petition for permanent resignation in lieu of discipline. ODC had filed formal charges against the respondent alleging that she committed serious attorney misconduct, including a pattern of accepting advanced fees in connection with her representation of clients but then failing to communicate with them, failing to complete the necessary work to bring their legal matters to a conclusion, and failing to refund the unearned fees.
  6. David H. Bernstein. The court denied the petitioner’s application for readmission.
  7. George William Jarman. The court suspended the respondent from the practice of law on an interim basis pursuant to Supreme Court Rule XIX, §19 in the wake of a federal child-porn conviction. For more information, see here.
  8. Randall J. Cashio. The court found that the ODC failed to prove the alleged misconduct by clear and convincing evidence, and dismissed the formal charges against the respondent. The LADB had previously recommended that the respondent be publicly reprimanded for a violation of Rule 3.1 (regarding meritorious claims and contentions) by bringing a defamation claim against the person who filed a disciplinary complaint against him.
  9. In re Confidential Party. The court rejected a joint petition for consent discipline, and remanded the matter for an expedited hearing on the previously filed formal charges.

Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board

  1. Barry Singh Ranshi. The board recommended that the respondent be reinstated to the practice of law.

Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board Hearing Committees

  1. Patrick Henry. Hearing Committee No. 57 recommended that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for six months, fully deferred. The respondent engaged in conduct involving misrepresentation regarding a client’s fee.
  2. Stanley Stephen Spring, II. Hearing Committee No. 26 recommended that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for a year and a day. The respondent, among other things, engaged in a conflict of interest by representing a client in a divorce proceeding and also representing the client’s wife in a separate proceeding before the divorce was finalized.
  3. Gregory Paul Hardy. Hearing Committee No. 20 recommended that the respondent be readmitted to the practice of law. The committee determined that he had borne his burden of proof and shown by clear and convincing evidence that he had fulfilled all of the criteria for reinstatement.
  4. Gregory F. Williams, Sr. Hearing Committee No. 5 recommended that the respondent be permanently disbarred. While working as an Assistant District Attorney in Lafayette, the respondent pled guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery and was convicted.
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