NEW ORLEANS — West Monroe attorney Richmond C. Odom has been returned to active status following a Feb. 2 Louisiana Supreme Court order after being on inactive status for almost nine years.
The high court's order followed Odom's petition for transfer to active status and a response by the office of disciplinary counsel, according to the high court's single-page order. The court's order was effective immediately.
Odom was admitted to the Louisiana Bar on April 18, 1986, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
In March 2009, the state Supreme Court transferred Odom to interim disability inactive status pending a hearing over the validity of Odom's claim of inability to assist in his defense due to mental or physical incapacity, according to the court's order at the time. The order followed Odom's petition to be transferred to disability inactive state. All disciplinary proceedings were stayed pending determination of Odom's claim, according to the order, which was effective immediately.
The following September, Odom was transferred from interim disability inactive status to disability inactive status following a hearing committee's findings and a recommendation filed by the office of disciplinary counsel, according to a state Supreme Court order that month.
In a previous state Supreme Court order in March 2005, Odom was publicly reprimanded following allegations he had engaged in a conflict of interest. After the office of disciplinary counsel commenced its investigation into those allegations, the office and Odom submitted a joint petition for consent discipline in which Odom admitted to having engaged in a conflict of interest by representing a client in which representation had been materially limited by his responsibilities to another client or third person or by the his own interests, according to the 2005 order. Odom also was required to attend Ethics School and to pay all costs and expenses in the matter.