A Sad Day

The Advocate reported on a recent license surrender in Louisiana

The more than four-decade-long legal career of Baton Rouge lawyer and former Southern University Board of Supervisors member Walter C. Dumas is over.

The high court’s written order Monday indicates the Office of Disciplinary Counsel was conducting another investigation into allegations that Dumas “committed serious attorney misconduct, the most significant of which involves his conversion of client and third-party funds.”

Dumas asked that he be allowed to permanently resign from the practice of law in lieu of further discipline, and the court granted his request.

“It’s a very sad day for Walter and the thousands of members of the community he served, often without a fee,” Dumas’ attorney, Jim Boren, said Tuesday. “It’s a shame such a splendid and successful career had to end this way.”

Even without a law license, he added, Dumas’ commitment to the community remains strong.

Dumas is now permanently prohibited from practicing law in Louisiana or in any other jurisdiction in which he is admitted to practice law, according to the Supreme Court’s order. He also is permanently barred from seeking readmission to the practice of law in this state or any other jurisdiction, and is permanently forbidden to seek admission to practice law in any jurisdiction.

In addition to memberships in church and civic organizations across the city, he holds the distinction as the first black person appointed to an ad hoc judgeship on Baton Rouge City Court.

The court’s order is linked here. (Mike Frisch)