On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board ruled on the petition filed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel against Louisiana attorney Richard William Huye III for misconduct.

The case is styled as ‘In Re: Richard William Huye III’, with case no. 22-DB-037.

The respondent allegedly violated the Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2(a)(2&3) and 7.4(B)(2)(d).

The case was brought about when through respondent’s law firm unsolicitedly disseminated approximately  1,119,207 written communications advertising his firm’s legal services sent specifically to Louisiana residents who may have suffered property damage from recent hurricanes and displayed a billboard and bus campaign targeting the same individuals. The same was sent without the requisite LSBA filing number and failed to disclose that an attorney other than himself would be responsible for handling any cases arising from the communications.

The filing states:

“With respect to his answer to the formal charges in connection with the above-stated rules, the Committee finds that Respondent was negligent in causing to be disseminated unsolicited written communications that did not include an LSBA Registration Number (Rule 7.2(a)(3)) and billboard and bus advertisements that did not disclose, by city or town, a bona fide office location of the lawyers who would perform these services.”

The filing further states:

“Respondent violated duties owed to the public, to the profession, and to the legal system. He acted negligently and knowingly. Respondent’s misconduct caused actual harm to the legal system by causing to be filed thousands of claims in Federal District Court, many of which were duplicate matters of those already filed and, in some cases, were matters which had been dismissed or settled”

The Committee recommended that Respondent be suspended from the practice of law for six months, all of which should be deferred with a probation period of one year, and that he be assessed costs and expenses of the proceedings.

As of today, Mr. Huye practices in Louisiana and is a managing partner at McClenney Mosely & Associates. His info can be found here.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.