In In Re S. Judd Tooke, 22 So. 3d 902 (La. 2009), the Louisiana Supreme Court ordered a lawyer’s name to be stricken from the roll, their license to practice law revoked in Louisiana, and that the attorney be permanently prohibited from being readmitted to the practice of law in Louisiana, and was ordered to pay full restitution to his victims.
The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the hearing committee’s conclusions that the lawyer knowingly neglected legal matters, failed to communicate with clients, failed to properly supervise his non-lawyer assistant, engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, had converted client to his own use by billing and receiving payment for expenses and legal fees that did not exist, did not properly communicate a fee arrangement to a client, did not refund unearned fees, didn’t fulfill obligations upon termination of representations, also engaged in conflicts of interest. Also the lawyer’s conduct was more intentional than negligent. The attorney violated duties to his clients, the legal system, and the legal profession, he actually caused substantial harm. The attorney was in violation under Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct: 1.1(a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.5(a), 1.5(b), 1.7(a), 1.8(c), 1.15(a), 1.16(d), 3.2, 5.3, 8.4(a), 8.4(b), and 8.4(c).
The lawyer had admitted to some of the deceit, yet did not offer any type of repayment to the victims of his deceit, fraud, or misrepresentation. The lawyer failed to fix any of the wrongs that he made in regards to The Rhodes Matter, The Hamilton Matter. The lawyer had used a client trust account for his own personal use. The lawyer failed to answer the formal charges that were brought against himself; he also never filed anything for the hearing committee’s consideration. In cases in which the lawyer does not answer the formal charges, the factual allegations of those charges are deemed admitted. Supreme Court Rule XIX, § 11(E)(3).
This case teaches the importance of the lawyer’s duty under Rule 1.1(a) failure to provide competent representation to a client, Rule 1.4 Communication, and overall Rule 8.4(c) engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation
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who can i talk with about compensation? my name is David and i lost everything due to his neglect of duties, i was also one of the people who filed a complaint with the disciplinary board.
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