NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Ineligible Leesville attorney Bradley O. Hicks has been suspended following a Nov. 5 Louisiana Supreme Court attorney disciplinary proceeding regarding allegations arising from complaints in multiple client matters.
In its nine-page attorney disciplinary proceeding, the high court suspended Hicks for two years and ordered him to provide a client a copy of his file and pay $3,400 in restitution.
Hicks was charged with professional conduct rules violations, including failures to act with reasonable diligence and promptness, to communicate with a client and cooperate with the office of disciplinary counsel's investigation. The allegations against Hicks stem from four separate client matters.
Hicks was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 6, 1995, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. He has been ineligible to practice law in Louisiana since June 2016 over noncompliance with continuing legal education requirements, unpaid disciplinary and bar dues, and noncompliance with trust account registration requirements, according to his state bar profile.
Allegations against Hicks stem, in part, from his 2011 representation of a client to whom he had been appointed as a public defender, according to the background portion of the Supreme Court's attorney disciplinary proceeding. Hicks allegedly did not meet with the client to discuss the status, facts and strategy of case prior to the client's arraignment, during which the client entered a guilty plea. Hicks also allegedly did not respond to the client's request in June 2015 for a copy of discovery in the case.
The client later filed a complaint with the office of disciplinary counsel, which sent its notice to Hicks in January 2016 and later twice served him with subpoenas for a sworn statement. Hicks allegedly failed to respond to the office of disciplinary counsel and did not appear to make a statement as scheduled in August 2016 or March 2017.
In July the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommended Hicks receive a two-year suspension.