On Tuesday, October 22, 2022, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania suspended Lancaster County attorney Lon Vandusen Hughes upon consideration of the Report and Recommendations of the Disciplinary Board.

The case is styled ‘Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Lon Vandusen Hughes’ and was brought by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (“ODC”), under case no. 128 DB 2021.

The charges cited Hughes’ violation of Rules of Professional Conduct RPC 8.4(b), which states:

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.

The rules of professional conduct can be found here.

The following are as alleged and summarized from the Report and Recommendations of the Disciplinary Board:

On September 27, 2021, the ODC charged Hughes with violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct and Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement (Pa. R.D.E.) stemming from a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) conviction in the York County Court of Common Pleas on April 18, 2019. Hughes belatedly filed the notice of his conviction with the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania on May 14, 2021, in violation of Pa. R.D.E. 214  which requires the reporting of conviction within 20 days to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Despite his 2019 DUI conviction, Hughes was involved in three summary offenses related to alcohol and thereafter pled guilty to each offense. It was further alleged that Hughes failed to respond to ODC’s inquiries during its investigation.

Based on these facts, the Board recommended Hughes’ suspension of one year and one day for his violations of the above-cited rule of professional conduct, and that Hughes pay the expenses incurred in the investigation and prosecution of this matter.

Accordingly, the Court considered the Disciplinary Board’s Report and Recommendation and ruled against Hughes for his misconduct.

The Order reads:

“. . . Lon VanDusen Hughes is suspended from the Bar of this Commonwealth for a period of one year and one day. Respondent shall comply with all the provisions of Pa.R.D.E 217 and pay costs to the Disciplinary Board.”

Prior to this suspension, Mr. Hughes practiced in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Fordham University School of Law in 1997. He has been licensed in Pennsylvania, license no. 320408.

A copy of the suspension order can be found here.