NEW ORLEANS – Ineligible Tacoma, Wash., attorney Myles Julian Johnson faces possible fully deferred suspension following a recommendation issued Feb. 21 by a Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee.
In its 18-page recommendation, the committee recommended the Louisiana Supreme Court hand down a fully deferred six months' suspension against Johnson and that he be ordered to pay all costs and expenses in the disciplinary proceedings against him.
The hearing committee found Johnson "did effectively communicate his withdrawal" from his client’s case but that he failed to file a motion to withdraw.
The hearing committee also found that Johnson did not promptly notify the Louisiana State Bar Association about his address change and that he failed to promptly respond to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
"The violations resulted from negligence, not intentional conduct," the recommendation said. "There was no actual harm proven."
The recommendation was signed Feb. 19 by committee chairman Charles McCowan and was issued two days later. Attorney James Taylor and public member Jill Davis concurred in the recommendation.
Johnson was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 28, 2005, according to his profile at the Louisiana bar's website. He was admitted to the bar in Washington on Aug. 11, 2014, according to the Washington State Bar Association's website.
His status is listed as "active" on his Washington bar profile.
No prior discipline is listed in either state bar profile.
Allegations against Johnson stem largely from a complaint filed against him in April by a client whom Johnson represented in an appeal. In September of that year, Johnson became ineligible to practice law in Louisiana over his alleged failure to pay state bar dues, according to the recommendation.
The client alleged that Johnson "dropped my case without telling me anything at all," the recommendation said.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel subsequently had difficulty locating Johnson because he had moved to Washington.
At the hearing, Johnson said he verbally informed his client of his withdrawal but failed to file a motion to withdraw and said that his failure to update the Louisiana bar about his address was due to "user error."