NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Mandeville attorney Gregory Timothy Discon faces possible disbarment following a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) recommendation to the state Supreme Court over allegations that included forging a judge's signature.
Discon "has admitted to the allegations and violations in the charges," said the LADB's 16-page recommendation which followed LADB Hearing Committee No. 62's legal conclusions and its own recommendations filed earlier this year. The hearing committee, in its own recommendations, blamed Discon's "longstanding addiction to cocaine" for his alleged misconduct.
Discon was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 23, 1993, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
Allegations against Discon include those stemming from him time at The Duggins Law Firm, engaged primarily in collections services. The firm, in its complaint to the office of disciplinary counsel in July 2015 and its still-pending civil suit, alleged Discon converted almost $49,000 from the firm's clients, according to the LADB recommendation.
In December 2015, Discon "was criminally charged with felony theft in Jefferson Parish", according to the hearing committee's recommendation. He subsequently entered a pretrial diversion program and charges against him were dismissed after he paid almost $26,000.
In April 2017, the state Supreme Court approved a joint petition for interim suspension filed by Discon and the office of disciplinary counsel. The order, which was effective immediately, was handed down by the court following reported allegations against Discon that he had stolen money from a company he represented and forged a judge's signature.
The following October, the office of disciplinary counsel filed a pre-hearing memorandum arguing for Discon's disbarment.
In January, the LADB hearing committee recommended Discon be disbarred over his misconduct, concurrent with a long history of cocaine addiction, which included conversion of client funds, fraudulently creating pleadings and invoices and forging a judge's signature.
The hearing committee also recommended that Discon immediately submit to an evaluation and five-year monitoring contract with the state bar's judges and lawyers assistance program (JLAP) and not apply for readmission until after completing three years of monitoring.
The LADB adopted the hearing committee's finding, except for the JLAP monitoring requirement. "However, the board encourages [Discon] to seek the assistance of JLAP in order to continue his recovery," the LADB recommendation said.