NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court recently disciplined several attorneys after the Louisiana State Bar's Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) investigated formal complaints against them individually.
On May 19, the court suspended Anna C. Simmons, a Baton Rouge attorney, for six months for comingling client and personal funds in her client trust account. The suspension was deferred under the condition that Simmons successfully complete two years of probation. Simmons was admitted to the state bar in 1986.
Richard F. Price Jr., a Metairie attorney, permanently resigned from the practice of law on May 18 in lieu of discipline over charges of comingling and conversion of client funds. The attorney was a member of the state bar since 1968.
On May 12, Dwight D. Poirrier, a Gonzales attorney, was suspended for one year and one day after allegedly being arrested twice for driving under the influence. The suspension will remain deferred if he successfully completes two years of unsupervised probation. Poirrier has been in practice for 26 years and was admitted to the State Bar in 1991.
Hugh B. Exnicios Jr., a Folsom attorney, was suspended for six months on May 1 for mishandling his client trust and threatening opposing counsel with a formal complaint in a civil case. However, upon successfully completing one year of probation, the suspension will be deferred. The attorney was admitted to the state bar in 1964.
On April 27, Harold D. Register Jr., a Lafayette attorney, and Gregory Timothy Discon, a Mandeville attorney, were placed on interim suspensions for infractions undisclosed in their respective court orders.
Criminal charges against the two are reported by local news, though it is unclear if the State Bar discipline is related. Discon had been charged with stealing $26,000 from a company he represented and forging a judge's signature, according to the Times-Picayune. Register had been charged with forgery, personally spending a client's settlement, and failing to appear on behalf of his client according to a report by KATC.
Register was admitted to the state bar in 1985, and Discon was admitted in 1993.