NEW ORLEANS — Suspended Alexandria attorney Kevin Matthew Dantzler faces possible disbarment following a recommendation issued Feb. 12 by a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee over allegations arising from multiple complaints.
"[Dantzler] is currently ineligible to practice law in Louisiana," the 16-page recommendation issued by LADB Hearing Committee No. 7 said. "He has failed to cooperate in the investigation of the multiple complaints lodged against him. The committee also finds that he has violated multiple Rules of Professional Conduct involving multiple complainants, causing real and substantial injury to the complainants, the public, and the legal system."
The committee also recommended Dantzler be ordered to provide an accounting to and refund unearned fees to three clients.
Dantzler reportedly did not file an answer to the office of disciplinary counsel's formal charges and in November the factual allegations were deemed admitted, according to the recommendation.
The recommendation was signed Feb. 11 by committee Chair Terrence McCay and was issued the following day. Attorney member Daniel Kramer and public member Richard Hinton concurred in the recommendation.
Dantzler was admitted to the bar on April 13, 2006, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. In June 2018, Dantzler became ineligible to practice law in Louisiana over alleged noncompliance with continuing legal education requirements.
The previous April, Dantzler was indefinitely suspended following a state Supreme Court order for "threat of harm."
Allegations against Dantzler stemm from seven separate client matters and include repeatedly overdrawing his client trust account without explanation, neglecting legal matters, and engaging in unauthorized practice of law. Dantzler also was alleged to have engaged in criminal conduct in one complaint against him in which he allegedly sold pain pills to a client.
"[Dantzler] knowingly engaged in the intentional and illegal sale of prescription medication," the recommendation said. "[Dantzler] knowingly, if not intentionally, failed to complete legal work that he was hired to do and thereafter failed to return unearned legal fees. [Dantzler] knowingly, if not intentionally, failed to attend mandatory continuing legal education, pay bar dues, and pay disciplinary dues. Furthermore, [Dantzler] knowingly, if not intentionally, failed to cooperate with ODC during the investigation into these matters."