NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Suspended Gonzales attorney Phyllis A. Southall has been adjudged guilty of additional offenses, according to a Sept. 21 Louisiana Supreme Court attorney disciplinary proceeding.
The state high court accepted a joint petition for consent discipline from Southall and the office of disciplinary counsel and adjudged Southall guilty of additional violations that could warrant discipline should she apply for reinstatement.
Allegations against Southall included failures to communicate with her client, not placing advanced costs into a client trust account, failure to refund unearned fees and not cooperating with an office of disciplinary counsel investigation, according to the state high court's single-page attorney disciplinary proceeding.
"This misconduct occurred in the same general time frame as the misconduct forming the basis of [Southall]'s earlier disciplinary matter, wherein she was suspended from the practice of law for three years," the disciplinary proceeding said.
Southall was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 22, 1988, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. Southall was placed on interim suspension in January 2014.
In May 2014, a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board hearing committee recommended Southall be suspended three years, with one year and 364 days deferred, and that she be ordered to "make appropriate restitution to the clients she offended." The committee also recommended that should Southall apply for readmission following her suspension, she should be placed on three years/ probation.
The hearing committee handed down its recommendation following allegations against Southall, including failure to finalize a client's divorce, not notifying her client that his judgment of divorce could potentially be invalid, not notifying the court that a divorce ruling included false information and failure to notify her client that she faced malpractice allegations.
In November 2014, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommended Southall be suspend for a year and one day after finding Southall mishandled client trust funds, did not understand basic accounting principles and failed to cooperate in the office of disciplinary counsel's investigation.
The following March, the Louisiana Supreme Court suspended Southall for three years, retroactive to the date of her interim suspension.