NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Houston attorney Jose W. Vega, admitted to the bar in Louisiana 1993, has been permanently disbarred following a May 11 Louisiana Supreme Court attorney disciplinary proceeding.
The high court's nine-page attorney disciplinary proceeding followed a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommendation in February that Vega be permanently disbarred. Vega was alleged to have violated professional conduct rules when he failed to communicate with his client, to diligently represent her, to cooperate with the office of disciplinary counsel and to respond to charges against him.
"The record further supports a finding that [Vega] knowingly and intentionally violated duties owed to his client, the legal system and the legal profession, resulting in actual harm to his client," the state high cour said in its attorney disciplinary proceeding.
"We agree with the board that the baseline sanction for this type of misconduct is disbarment. We also agree with the aggravating factors found by the board, and the finding that there are no mitigating circumstances present."
Vega already was disbarred, so the high court's action makes that discipline permanent. The state Supreme Court also ordered Vega to pay all costs and expenses, plus interest in the matter.
Vega was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Sept. 10, 1993, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. He also was admitted to the bar in Texas May 9, 2002, according to his profile on the Texas State Bar Association's website, and to the bar in New York in 2004, according to the Louisiana Supreme Court's attorney disciplinary proceeding.
In September 2016, Vega was reciprocally disbarred following a Louisiana Supreme Court order after he resigned from the Texas State Bar Association. Vega had already been ineligible to practice law in Louisiana because he failed to pay his state bar dues, to meet mandatory continuing legal education requirements and to file a trust account disclosure statement.
Aggravating factors in the allegations against him included "a prior disciplinary record, bad faith, obstruction of the disciplinary proceeding by intentionally failing to comply with the rules or orders of the disciplinary agency, vulnerability of the victim, and substantial experience in the practice of law," the Louisiana Supreme Court said in its attorney disciplinary proceeding. "The committee found that no mitigating factors are present."