NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Ineligible New Orleans attorney Sally Harrison Longmire Hingel faces possible disbarment following a recent recommendation by a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee after she allegedly solicited and purchased prescription medication from a client.
Hingel, 43, is alleged to have purchased Xanax, a class IV narcotic, in late 2016 from a client she was representing in a divorce case, according to the eight-page recommendation issued by LADB Hearing Committee No. 37. Hingel also allegedly attempted to purchase codeine, Vicodin and Percocets from the client, offering cash or discounted legal services, according to the recommendation.
"The evidence does not show that [Hingel] performed any legal services for [the client]," the recommendation said.
The client fired Hingel in December 2016, according to the recommendation. In addition to disbarment, the hearing committee also recommended Hingel be ordered to pay all costs and expenses in the matter.
The recommendation was signed Friday, Oct. 12, by committee chair Robert M. Johnston and was made public the same day. Committee attorney member Wade P. Webster and public member Linda S. Ellis concurred in the recommendation.
Hingel was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 18, 2002, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. Hingel was listed on her profile as ineligible to practice law in June and September 2017 over unpaid bar and disciplinary dues and noncompliance with trust account registration and continuing legal education requirements.
Hingel did not answer formal charges filed against her in March, and the office of disciplinary counsel in June filed a motion to deem the factual allegations as admitted, which was approved the following month. Last month the office of disciplinary counsel filed its submission on sanctions.
In addition to allegations over the prescription medication, Hingel also faces allegations of professional conduct rule violations, including competence, diligence, communication and failures to return an unearned fee and to promptly reply to a reasonable request for information.