NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) – Houma attorney and pop artist Michael J. Billiot recently received a deferred suspension following a Louisiana Supreme Court attorney disciplinary proceeding regarding an investigation into arrests for driving while intoxicated.
The high court handed down a fully deferred suspension of one year and a day against Billiot and placed him on probation "for a period to coincide with the term of his recovery agreement with the judges and lawyers assistance program." Any failure on Billiot's part to comply with the terms of the agreement may be grounds for making the deferred suspension executory, or imposing additional discipline, according to the high court's Aug 31 two-page attorney disciplinary proceeding.
Billiot was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 13, 2006, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. No prior discipline was listed on his state bar profile.
The court's attorney disciplinary proceeding gave no details about Billiot's "arrests for driving while intoxicated" but said the office of disciplinary counsel commenced an investigation into those arrests. After the office of disciplinary counsel filed formal charges against Billiot, the attorney and the office submitted a joint petition for consent discipline to the court.
In that petition, Billiot stipulated to having violating professional conduct rules, including those regarding commission of a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer.
In January 2015, Billiot was featured the Houma newspaper The Times in a story about the Dulac native's then 25-year dream of becoming a pop artist. At the time, Billiott had just released his first album, "Fantasy Love" with a cut on the self-published album, "Genuine," according to the feature.