NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — New Orleans attorney William Christopher Beary awaits the outcome of a recommendation issued by a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee in March that he receive a deferred suspension for alleged cocaine possession.
LADB Hearing Committee No. 33 recommended Beary receive a fully deferred suspension of a year and a day and submit to two years of random drug testing, according to the hearing committee's report filed March 19. The committee reported it found no evidence that Beary has a substance abuse disorder for that his alleged misconduct harmed a client or the public.
Beary "appears to be in control of any problem he might have had with the use of cocaine, and there is no evidence that he had a problem with his use of alcohol," the committee said in its 20-page report. The committee "strongly recommends that [Beary] seek professional counseling to avoid any future misuse of these substances."
No additional updates in the matter, LADB recommendations or a decision by the state Supreme Court, have been posted to the LADB website. Beary was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 8, 1993, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. Beary had no prior discipline before the state bar, according to the hearing committee's report.
Charges against Beary stem from a "criminal charge for possession of cocaine", his placement in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court's diversion program and his referral to the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program, according to the committee's report. Beary, who completed the diversion program, asked the committee to recommend the suspension but said should be fully deferred.
Beary and the Office of Disciplinary Counsel have been largely in agreement about the charges and the proceedings, according to the hearing committee's report.
"The ODC and [Beary] disagree only upon the sanction that should be imposed upon [Beary]," the committee's report said. "The ODC urges a suspension of 'at least a year and a day' and that no portion of any suspension be deferred. The ODC also argues that [Beary] be cast for all costs in these proceedings. [Beary] argues that a suspension of one year and one day should be imposed but that it should be fully deferred."