On Tuesday, December 20, 2022, the Supreme Court of Louisiana ordered the suspension of Slidell attorney S. Michele Blanchard-Airey in relation to the disciplinary charges alleging mishandling of client’s trust account.

The case is styled “In Re: S. Michele Blanchard-Airey” and was brought by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), under case no. 2022-B-1592.

The charges cited Rules 1.15(a), 1.15(b), and 1.15(f) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.

The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing:

An investigation was commenced by the ODC into allegations that Respondent engaged in misconduct of mishandling her client’s trust account. Respondent and the ODC then submitted a joint petition for consent discipline, in which Respondent admitted her violation of the above-cited rules of professional conduct.

The Court, after its review of the petition, ordered the suspension of Respondent.

The Disposition reads:

“IT IS ORDERED that the Petition for Consent Discipline be accepted and that S. Michele Blanchard-Airey, Louisiana Bar Roll number 27966, be suspended from the practice of law for a period of six months. This suspension shall be deferred in its entirety, subject to respondent’s successful completion of a two-year period of supervised probation governed by the conditions set forth in the Petition for Consent Discipline. The probationary period shall commence from the date respondent and the ODC execute 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.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms. Michele Blanchard-Airey is the owner/attorney of the law firm Airey Blanchard Law Office in Slidell, Louisiana. She graduated from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 2002. She has been licensed in Louisiana.

A copy of the order of suspension can be found here.