Unambiguous

A Louisiana Hearing Board has proposed a full-stayed one-year suspension with six months of unsupervised probation of an attorney who (while represented by counsel) violated immunity provisions by suing a bar complainant.

The complainant was his former son-in-law, who had made a series of personal attacks against him that “may have grossly impaired his judgment at the time the charged misconduct occurred.”

The committee also found that the Respondent “was not well served by his attorney.”

An experienced attorney can thoroughly research a statute and master it. He will know its legislative history, be familiar with the many court decisions involved in the litigation of that statute. Lawyers are trained to seek and find ambiguity in the law (gray areas). Ambiguity in the hands of a good lawyer can be used as a “sword” to protect the rights of citizens. This is not to say that [counsel] and [Respondent] are not good lawyers, quite the contrary. However, the Committee feels they may have been to close to the situation to assess it correctly.

Here, “creativity” crossed the line into the land of frivolity. (Mike Frisch)