The Oklahoma Supreme Court has imposed an 18-month suspension as reciprocal discipline for misconduct found in Louisiana

The circumstances of the Louisiana matter are as follows. In 2012, Kutner’s wife, Reva Lupin, a licensed attorney in Louisiana, was approached by a potential client, Jones, regarding possible representation in various civil-rights matters. Lupin told Jones she did not practice civil-rights law, but that her husband did. Jones consulted with Kutner and signed a contingency fee agreement. Kutner signed the agreement with his wife’s name followed by his own initials, but Lupin took no part in representing Jones in these matters. Over the next fifteen months, Jones wrote several checks for legal services — some to Lupin, some to Kutner — totaling about $3700. A federal lawsuit was filed on Jones’s behalf (listing Lupin as attorney of record), but it was eventually dismissed for failure to serve the defendants. Kutner appears to have ceased communication with Jones at some point along the way.

In 2017, proceedings were initiated against Kutner by counsel for the Louisiana’s Attorney Disciplinary Board, which handles bar disciplinary matters for that state. Ultimately, the parties entered into a “joint petition for consent discipline.” Kutner acknowledged that he had (1) engaged in the unauthorized practice of law, (2) neglected a client’s legal matter, (3) failed to communicate with the client, and (4) failed to return unearned legal fees. The Louisiana Disciplinary Board noted that Kutner’s conduct was aggravated by the fact that he had many years’ experience as an attorney and by the vulnerability of his victim. In mitigation, the Board noted that Kutner had no prior disciplinary record, that he ultimately returned the unearned fees, and that he expressed remorse for his actions. Accepting the joint petition and the agreed-to sanction, the Supreme Court of Louisiana enjoined Kutner from seeking admission to the Louisiana bar, or seeking to practice law in that state on any other basis, for eighteen months. The Supreme Court of Louisiana rendered its decision in April 2021.

Here

Having found clear and convincing evidence that Kutner, a veteran attorney, engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in Louisiana, that he neglected that legal matter as well, and that he failed to notify the OBA of the Louisiana disciplinary action, this Court finds that he should be suspended from the practice of law in Oklahoma for eighteen months, to begin on the same date that the Supreme Court of Louisiana imposed its sanction: April 20, 2021.

A dissene would impose a two-year prospective suspension. (Mike Frisch)