On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, the Supreme Court of Louisiana ruled on the charges for attorney discipline against Lake Charles attorney Steven W. Hale alleging the latter of engaging in a conflict of interest involving two concurrent clients.

The case, titled In Re: Steven W. Hale, was brought by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Case #2022-B-1273.

The charges cited Hale’s violation of Rules 1.7 and 8.4(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel started an investigation into allegations that the respondent engaged in a conflict of interest involving two concurrent clients.

Respondent and the ODC submitted a joint petition for consent discipline.

After its review of the petition, the Supreme Court of Louisiana accepted the petition.

The pertinent provision of the Court’s decision reads:

“IT IS ORDERED that the Petition for Consent Discipline be accepted and that Steven W. Hale, Louisiana Bar Roll number6425, be suspended from the practice of law for a period of six months. This suspension shall be deferred in its entirety, subject to a one-year period of unsupervised probation governed by the conditions set forth in the petition for consent discipline. The probationary period shall commence from the date respondent and the ODCexecute a formal probation plan. Any failure of respondent to comply with the conditions of probation, or any misconduct during the probationary period, may be grounds for making the deferred suspension executory, or imposing additional discipline, as appropriate”

Costs and expenses were also assessed against respondent with legal interest to commence thirty days from the date of finality of the Court’s judgment until paid.

According to Super Lawyers, Mr. Hale is the managing partner of  Hale Law Firm. He attended Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, graduating in 1977. Hale has practiced in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He has been licensed in Louisiana, license no. 6425.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.