On Monday, November 21, 2022, Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommended the disbarment of Leesburg attorney Richard Forrest White.

The case is entitled “In re: Richard Forrest White” and was brought by the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel. Case #21-DB-006 c/w 21-DB-031.

The charges cited rules of professional conduct Rule 1.3, 1.4(a), 1.16(d), 3.4(c), 8.1(c), 8.4 which states:

A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.

(a) A lawyer shall: (1) promptly inform the client of any decision or circumstance with respect to which the client’s informed consent, as defined in Rule 1.0(e), is required by these Rules; (2) reasonably consult with the client about the means by which the client’s objectives are to be accomplished; (3) keep the client reasonably informed about the status of the matter; (4) promptly comply with reasonable requests for information, and (5) consult with the client about any relevant limitation on the lawyer’s conduct when the lawyer knows that the client expects assistance not permitted by the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law.

Upon termination of representation, a lawyer shall take steps to the extent reasonably practicable to protect a client’s interests, such as giving reasonable notice to the client, allowing time for employment of other counsel, surrendering papers and property to which the client is entitled and refunding any advance payment of fee or expense that has not been earned or incurred. Upon written request by the client, the lawyer shall promptly release to the client or the client’s new lawyer the entire file relating to the matter. The lawyer may retain a copy of the file but shall not condition release over issues relating to the expense of copying the file or for any other reason. The responsibility for the cost of copying shall be determined in an appropriate proceeding.

A lawyer shall not knowingly disobey an obligation under the rules of a tribunal, except for an open refusal based on an assertion that no valid obligation exists;

An applicant for admission to the bar, or a lawyer in connection with a bar admission application or in connection with a disciplinary matter, shall not fail to cooperate with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in its investigation of any matter before it except for an openly expressed claim of a constitutional privilege.

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another; (b) Commit a criminal act, especially one that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects; ) Engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; (d) Engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.

The rules of professional conduct can be found here.

The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing:

These two consolidated attorney discipline matters are based upon the filing of formal charges by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC) against Richard Forrest White, Louisiana Bar Roll Number 22892  ODC alleges that Respondent violated the Rules of Professional Conduct for nonpayment of fees.

The filing states:

“The Respondent was retained in August 2015, to file two actions on behalf of Ms. Lafleur; that is, a Worker’s Compensation claim and a lawsuit, resulting from an incident where Ms. Lafleur was attacked by three (3) females while at her place of employment, City Gear. To date, Respondent has filed nothing on Ms. Lefleur’s [sic] behalf despite repeated assurances he had done so. Respondent failed to respond to her inquiries and failed to cooperate with ODC in that he failed to respond to virtually all subsequent written requests.’

The filing continues:

“Respondent failed to attend his sworn statement for which he was subpoenaed to attend on August 24, 2020, at the ODC office in Baton Rouge. At 9:28 a.m., approximately thirty minutes prior to the time the statement was scheduled to start, an individual named Carter White, who identified himself as the Respondent’s son, contacted ODC and advised that he had just learned the Respondent had been hospitalized and he would not appear for his sworn statement. Carter could not provide the name of the hospital or the date, to which he claimed the Respondent had been admitted. Carter was asked to provide proof, via email or fax, of his father’s hospitalization. He stated he would send a picture of the hospital bracelet as evidence that Respondent was in fact hospitalized, and then follow up with more formal proof once he was in possession of same. ODC never received an email substantiating the claims of hospitalization. As such, ODC proceeded with the sworn statement in the Respondent’s absence.”

The filing further alleges:

“Most recently, Respondent was arrested by the Lake Charles Police Department on February 20, 2020, for Possession of Schedule II CDS, Less than 2 grams (felony), and Drug Paraphernalia (misdemeanor) in violation of La. R.S. 40:967C(1) and La. R.S. 40:1023C, respectively. According to the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s office, this matter is still pending.’ Additionally, according to Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court, on February 16, 2001, Respondent pled guilty to ten (10) counts of Obtaining Controlled Dangerous Substances by Fraud, in violation of La. R.S. 40:971, in the case entitled State of Louisiana v. Richard White, under docket number 3402-CR-1995 of the 14th Parish Judicial District Court. According to the minutes of the Clerk of Court, the Respondent was sentenced under Article 895, ordered to pay a fine, and placed on probation for a period of two (2) years with certain conditions of probation. 10 Approximately a month prior to pleading guilty under the aforementioned docket number, on January 5, 2001, Respondent was found to be in contempt of court for his failure to appear in court on May 22, 1995, for his arraignment, causing a bench warrant to be issued on May 24, 1995. The bench warrant remained active in excess of five (5) years before Respondent appeared and was sentenced to five (5) days in the parish jail, with credit for time served.”

The filing additionally notes:

“Respondent enrolled as an attorney for Complainant on May 29, 2018, in the matter entitled State of Louisiana V. Scott Richard Campbell, Case # 3635-VC-2018, before the 14th Judicial District Court, Parish of Calcasieu. The Complainant was being charged with Attempted Second-Degree Rape. On this same date, Respondent, on the record, acknowledged receipt of a Joint Stipulation Packet. On October 22, 2019, with counsel, Blake Hale, the Complainant pled no contest to the charge of Attempted Second-Degree Rape. Thereafter, on December 18, 2019, while represented in court by Respondent, the Court sentenced Complainant to fifteen (15) years in the custody of the Department of Corrections at hard labor, with credit for time served from the date of the arrest, December 23, 2017. According to Complainant, shortly after being sentenced by the Court, on July 26, 2020 and October 11, 2020, Complainant wrote to Respondent in an attempt to retrieve his entire client file in order to proceed with the appeals process. Moreover, the Complainant reports that he has been successful in attempting to contact Respondent via telephone. “”1 To date, despite his efforts, Complainant has not received his client file, nor has he been able to communicate with Respondent in any way.”

Due to these facts and circumstances, the Board recommends the disbarment of the respondent.

The Disposition states:

“In light of the foregoing, the Board adopts the factual findings and conclusions regarding rule violations of Committees 31 and 6. The Board recommends that Respondent be disbarred and that Respondent be ordered to return Mr. Campbell’s file to him.”

The respondent attended Loyola University College of Law, graduating in 1998. White practices in Leesburg, Virginia. He has been licensed in Louisiana, license #22892, as well as District of Columbia, Virginia. His info can be found on LinkedIn.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.