NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court recently upheld a recommendation by the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) to place attorney Channing J. Warner on a 366-day suspension.
The ODC’s April 7 decision to suspend Warner was in response to his alleged failure to comply with the terms of his probation imposed from a prior disciplinary proceeding.
According to court documents, Warner was placed on a two-year probation in June 2014 for misconduct, including neglecting a legal matter, failing to communicate with a client, commingling funds and failing to promptly pay out a client’s settlement. Warner’s cooperation in the proceedings and his willingness to file a joint petition for discipline aided in the attorney receiving probation over a suspension.
Warner’s probation came with several stipulations that he had comply with or face further disciplinary action. Between the June 2014 order and the petition filed by the ODC to revoke his probation in January, Warner allegedly failed to meet many of the requirements.
Court documents list his noncompliance as including failure to pay the nearly $2,000 in court costs, not responding to state bar requests for contact, failing to meet mandatory continuing legal education hours, not submitting quarterly reports to the state bar and failing to register his client trust account with the state bar.
In addition, complaints against Warner were made to the state bar by two clients, one of whom claimed he had provided funds to the attorney for court costs which were neither paid nor deposited into the client trust account.
The state bar’s Jan. 18 petition for revocation was investigated, and it was determined that his conduct warranted further action.
Warner’s practice is located in Gretna. He obtained his law degree from the Southern University Law Center and has been a member of the Louisiana State Bar since the late 2000s.