NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Houston attorney Attlah Deniece Burrell, suspended for more than a decade, could be reinstated following a recent recommendation issued a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee.
In its seven-page recommendation, LADB Hearing Committee No. 27 said it would recommend conditional reinstatement for Burrell but that there were "serious concerns" about her plans for her legal career after she is reinstated.
"The committee has concerns about the practicality of Burrell's plan to live in Texas and practice Louisiana law," the three-member committee said in its recommendation. "Indeed, the committee is also concerned that Burrell may be placing herself in the situation where she could be practicing law in Texas without a Texas license."
A Louisiana Record search on the State Bar of Texas website did not turn up an attorney by Burrell's name.
Due to its concerns, the committee said Burrell's reinstatement should be conditioned on her being supervised by a mentoring lawyer licensed in Louisiana, that she complete eight hours of continuing legal education, pay her Louisiana bar dues as well as disciplinary assessments and fees. The committee also recommended her compliance with conditional reinstatement be reviewed quarterly until the amounts are paid and her supervisory period expires.
The recommendation was signed Nov. 14 by committee chair Edythe L. Koonce and was issued the same day. Attorney member Charles S. McCowan and public member Diana G. Savoy concurred in the recommendation.
Burrell was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 18, 1987, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
Burrell was voluntarily suspended for three years following a Louisiana Supreme Court order in March 2011 following allegations that she failed to properly supervise her non-lawyer staff and facilitated a suspended attorney's unauthorized law practice. Her suspension was made retroactive to the date of her interim suspension in February 2008.
Burrell applied for reinstatement in January. The office of disciplinary counsel took no position on her reinstatement.