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LOUISIANA RECORD

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Disciplinary panel recommends attorney practicing without license not be admitted to bar for several years

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NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) – Sanford A. Kutner, an attorney licensed in Oklahoma and New York who has maintained a Louisiana address, may not be admitted to the practice of law in Louisiana for several years following a Jan. 16 Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee's recommendation.

In its nine-page recommendation, LADB Hearing Committee No. 56 recommended the Louisiana Supreme Court enjoin Kutner for "no less than three years" from applying for admission to the Louisiana State Bar Association or be allowed to practice in the state on a temporary or limited basis. The hearing committee also recommended Kutner be ordered to pay restitution with interest in addition to all costs in the matter.

"There is also the issue in this matter of whether the court may impose discipline on an attorney not admitted to the bar in Louisiana," the recommendation said. "In this regard, the court has noted that in the exercise of its plenary power to define and regulate the practice of law, it has the right to fashion and impose any sanction which the court finds is necessary and appropriate to regulate the practice of law and protect the citizens of this state."

The recommendation was signed by Committee Chair Richard G. Passler and was issued the following day. Attorney member Amanda B. Massey and Public member Gina C. Craft concurred in the recommendation.

Kutner was never been admitted to the bar in Louisiana but has long maintained a law office address on Tara Place in Metairie. Kutner was admitted to the Oklahoma Bar Association in 1970 and to the New York State Bar Association in 2001. 

Kutner apparently has no prior history of discipline in Louisiana, according to a search of the LADB's online database.  

Allegations against Kutner stemmed from his representation of a client in a workers' compensation and Americans With Disabilities Act case that began in 2012. Kutner is alleged to have neglected the legal matter and failed to communicate with his client, refund unearned fees and cooperate with the ODC in its investigation, according to the recommendation.

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