NEW ORLEANS – Suspended Lake Charles attorney Candace Pousson Howay faces another possible suspension following a Jan. 17 Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) recommendation to the state Supreme Court over allegations in a succession matter.
The LADB recommended Howay, 40, be suspended for a year and a day and that she be ordered to repay an unearned $3,000 fee.
Howay, also known as Candace Cormie, is alleged to have violated professional conduct rules, including failures to provide competent representation, act with diligence and promptness, keep a client informed, return an unearned fee and cooperate in a disciplinary investigation. Howay also allegedly engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.
The LADB's recommendation follows a hearing committee's legal conclusions and its own recommendation in February that Howay be suspended for three years and that she be ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution.
The LADB recommended a shorter suspension for Howay after declining to adopt the hearing committee's aggravating factor of multiple offenses.
Howay was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 22, 2009, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association’s website. Howay has been ineligible to practice law in Louisiana since June 2016 over noncompliance with trust account registration and continuing legal education requirements and unpaid bar and disciplinary dues, according to her state bar profile.
Howay was suspended for a year and a day and ordered to pay $1,800 in restitution following a May 2017 state Supreme Court order over allegations she used her firm's funds in checks written to her cousin and her mother's company.
The latest misconduct alleged against Howay occurred during her ineligibility and suspension in Louisiana and also while she was under a reciprocal order of suspension handed down in November 2017 by the Supreme Court of Washington.
In the succession matter, Howay allegedly accepted a $3,000 fee but, after several months, never filed anything or advanced the matter, according to the LADB recommendation. New counsel subsequently was hired, and Howay allegedly agreed to provide an accounting and refund the fee, but she never did.
"The new counsel was able to resolve the succession in two days," the recommendation said.
Howay did not respond to the state bar's formal complaint or appear at a hearing.