Pressures Of Practice

A Louisiana Hearing Committee has recommended a year and a day suspension of an attorney nunc pro tunc to his January 2016 interim suspension for false internal firm billings over a three-year period. 

The committee found that at least 428 billing entries were “certainly false” and 220 more that were likely false. 

The attorney’s firm set a yearly target of 1800 hours and hitting the target number was important to bonuses and promotions.

The attorney had risen in the firm’s leadership while suffering a decline in his book of business. He contended that  the conduct was a product of social rather than financial pressures. The false entries were internal and not billed to any clients.

He self-reported to the bar and cooperated in the proceedings.

He had “served [as] the firm’s hiring partner, head of recruiting, and chaired the firm’s diversity committee as the firm’s first minority recruiting and retention partner.”

The attorney had consented to the interim suspension.

Update: post corrected as to proposed sanction – thanks to Dane Ciolino for pointing out my error. (Mike Frisch)