NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans attorney Clayton Paul Schnyder Jr. has been suspended following a Dec. 20 Louisiana Supreme Court attorney disciplinary proceeding and allegations involving his client trust account.
Schnyder "mishandled his client trust account and failed to cooperate with the office of disciplinary counsel in its investigation," the Supreme Court said in its single page disciplinary proceeding.
Schnyder and the office of disciplinary counsel reached a joint petition for consent discipline after formal charges were filed. In that petition, Schnyder agreed to a suspension of a year and a day, with all but 60 days deferred and with the active portion of the suspension to be following by two years of conditional probation.
Schnyder's probation will begin from the date he and the office of disciplinary counsel execute a formal probation plan, according to the disciplinary proceeding.
"Any failure of [Schnyder] to comply with the conditions of probation, or any misconduct during the probationary period, may be grounds for making the deferred portion of the suspension executor, or imposing additional discipline, as appropriate," the disciplinary proceeding said.
Schnyder was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on April 19, 1996, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
In a previous discipline in January 2006, the Supreme Court suspended Schnyder for a year and a day over allegations he violated professional conduct rules regarding scope of his representation and failed to act with reasonable diligence, communicate, make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation and cooperate with the office of disciplinary counsel.
Schnyder remained suspended until August 2011, when the Supreme Court conditionally reinstated him, subject to a year of supervised probation and the incorporation of a practice plan, which included Schnyder being mentored by a more experienced attorney who would assist him with his administrative practices and would improve his client communications and case management skills, as well as his professional compliance, according to the court's order at the time.