NEW ORLEANS — Thibodaux attorney Howard Lucas Marcello has been transferred to disability inactive status following an April 6 Louisiana Supreme Court order following years that Marcello has spent on probation for alcohol and chemical addiction issues.
The high court's order, which followed a petition filed by the office of disciplinary counsel that Marcello be transferred to disability inactive status, was effective immediately, according to the state Supreme Court's scant single-page attorney disciplinary proceeding.
Marcello was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 16, 1992, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. Leigh had no prior discipline before the state bar, according to the disciplinary proceeding.
His transfer to disability inactive status is the latest action Marcello has received from the state Supreme Court, which has periodically disciplined him for nearly nine years. In October 2009, the Louisiana Supreme Court handed down a deferred year and a day suspension against Marcello with conditional probation for five years following his conviction of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
In June 2012, the state high court placed Marcello on five years' probation extended to coincide with his February 2012 contract with the state bar's lawyers assistance program. That proceeding followed a joint motion for extended probation filed with the court by Marcello and the office of disciplinary counsel after Marcello came to a five-year recovery agreement with the state bar's lawyers assistance program (“LAP”) in August 2007. The agreement followed Marcello's arrest on a DWI change and his subsequent no contest plea to DWI and a second offense DWI.
In September 2016, the Louisiana Supreme Court handed down an attorney disciplinary proceeding against Marcello, extending a previous probation an additional five years. That proceeding also added additional requirements that included Marcello receive individual therapy, heightened random drug testing and that he return to a rehabilitation facility to be rechecked after six months. The high court's action time followed a joint motion filed by Marcello and the office of disciplinary counsel to extend his previous probation because of his continuing chemical dependency.