NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Suspended Deridder attorney Mitchel M. Evans II faces possible permanent disbarment following a Sept. 13 Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB)'s latest recent recommendation to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
"[Evans'] actions may have been negligent in some instances, but in large part his actions were knowing and intentional," the 17-page recommendation said. "[Evans'] misconduct caused actual damage, most significantly loss to multiple clients of considerable amounts in unreasonable or unearned fees [more than $40,000 in the case of (one client)] and imposition of a criminal sentence twenty years longer than the sentence which [Evans] informed one client would be imposed when [Evans] advised his client to enter a guilty plea."
The LADB's recommendation involved consolidated proceedings over charges related to Evans' representation of multiple clients. Allegations against Evans in this most recent LADB recommendation included incompetent representation, taking action on behalf of clients without authority, and failures to act with reasonable diligence and to keep his clients reasonably informed.
The LADB recommended the Louisiana high court permanently disbar Evans and order him to make restitution to the state bar's complainants and the client assistance fund. Evans has not answered the latest charges against him, according to the LADB's recommendation.
Evans was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 28, 1989, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
The LADB's recommendation is the latest against Evans during the past three years.
In January 2017, Evans was suspended three years, following a state Supreme Court order the previous month and an LADB recommendation in spring 2016, for misconduct that occurred between 2005 and 2012. Allegations against Evans at the time included neglect of "numerous legal matters" and failures to communicate, provide competent representation, refund unearned fees, provide accountings, reduce contingency fee agreements to writing, supervise non-lawyer assistants and "to keep one client's information confidential."
In June 2018, a split LADB recommended additional suspension for Evans over additional allegations. In October 2018, the state high court handed down additional suspension against Evans over his representation in a custody dispute. Later that same month, an LADB hearing committee recommended Evans be permanently disbarred.