2 Longtime La. PI Lawyers Disbarred; Others Disciplined for 'Jackass' Fracas
Two longtime Louisiana personal injury attorneys have been disbarred by the state supreme court for allowing nonattorney case managers to run much of their law firm operation.
Partners E. Eric Guirard and Tommy Pittenger cooperated with the investigation, which began in 2000, stopped using the case manager system in 2004, and had no prior disciplinary record, reports the Times-Picayune. But this was too little too late, the court ruled.
“Their misconduct involves conflicts of interest, failure to supervise their nonlawyer staff, impermissible fee sharing with nonlawyers, and the facilitation of the unauthorized practice of law,” the court stated in a written opinion published today. Guirard and Pittenger were admitted to practice in 1987 and 1992, respectively.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, the court also disciplined former Terrebonne Parish District Attorney Douglas Greenburg over a courtroom fray in which he reportedly called opposing counsel a jackass, sparking a courtroom brawl.
However, Greenburg wasn’t sanctioned as harshly as a disciplinary panel had recommended. Instead of a one-year suspension he got six months, and all but 30 days of that amount was suspended, the newspaper reports.
Opposing counsel Anthony Lewis—who reportedly responded at the time of the incident “Your mother is a jackass”—was publicly reprimanded.
“This stunning lack of decorum and civility occurred in open court,” the opinion notes, saying that it undermined public confidence in the legal system.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Board Says La. Law Partners Treated Staff as Attorneys, Seeks Disbarment”
ABAJournal.com: “‘Jackass’ Court Fracas Spurs 1-Year Suspension Recommendation for Ex-DA”
