These lawyers were the subject of Louisiana Supreme Court disciplinary orders or Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommendations that were made public during the month of September 2015.
Louisiana Supreme Court
- Donald R. Pryor. The court suspended the respondent from the practice of law for a year and a day. The respondent offered the victim of a burglary $300 to drop the charges, and $500 not to show up in court for the trial.
- Scott Robert Hymel. The court suspended the respondent from the practice of law for eighteen months. The respondent failed to file a succession on behalf of a client, failed to communicate with this client on several occasions, failed to refund an unearned fee, and failed to cooperate with ODC.
- James Ward Davis. The court granted the respondent’s petition for permanent resignation in lieu of discipline. The respondent pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana to one count of making false statements under oath in connection with a bankruptcy proceeding.
- Douglas Kent Hall. The court disbarred the respondent. The respondent practiced law while ineligible to do so, neglected a legal matter, failed to communicate with clients, failed to account for or refund unearned fees, purchased detox shampoo for a client and then adamantly denied in a pretrial conference that his client was taking illegal drugs, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of utility service and one count of theft, and failed to cooperate with ODC in its investigation.
- William Paul Polk, II. The court ordered that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for a year and a day. The respondent practiced law while ineligible to do so, neglected a legal matter, and failed to refund an unearned fee.
- Gregory Wayne Minton. The court ordered that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for five years. The respondent had been suspended from the practice of law in Tennessee for five years for lack of diligence, lack of communication, abandonment of practice, failure to appear in court for several cases, negligence, accepting fees and then failing to provide adequate legal services, contempt of court, misuse of trust account causing overdrafts on multiple occasions, and failure to notify clients of a temporary suspension.
Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board
- David H. Bernstein. The board recommended that Mr. Bernstein’s petition for readmission to the practice of law be granted. He was disbarred seven years prior to his petition for misappropriating funds while employed by two New Orleans law firms.
Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board Hearing Committees
- Roy Joseph Richard, Jr. Hearing Committee No. 5 recommended that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for a year and a day, with all but sixty days deferred. The respondent neglected to deposit a check into his IOLTA account, which resulted in an overdraft of the account. Though the overdraft caused no harm, the respondent subsequently failed to respond to and cooperate with the ODC.
- Heather M. Murphy. Hearing Committee No. 9 recommended that the respondent be disbarred. The respondent failed to act with diligence, to withdraw properly, to communicate with clients, to return client files, and to return unearned fees. She also converted client funds, engaged in serious criminal conduct, practiced law while ineligible, and failed to cooperate with ODC.
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