In re: Kenneth Todd Wallace

Summary

The Supreme Court of Louisiana reviewed an attorney disciplinary proceeding involving Kenneth Todd Wallace’s submission of false and inflated billing entries. The court found a long and repetitive pattern of dishonesty but noted the absence of client harm and significant mitigating circumstances. It imposed a thirty-month suspension from the practice of law, with all but twelve months deferred, retroactive to January 8, 2016.

Holdings

1. The respondent's stipulated recording of false and inflated billable hours violated Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(a) and 8.4(c).
2. A thirty-month suspension from the practice of law, with all but twelve months deferred, was appropriate. The suspension was made retroactive to January 8, 2016, the date of respondent's interim suspension.
3. The Supreme Court of Louisiana has original jurisdiction over bar disciplinary matters, independently reviews the record, and requires proof of misconduct by clear and convincing evidence while applying manifest-error review to the hearing committee's factual findings.

Questions Presented

1. What sanction is appropriate for respondent's stipulated, repeated violations of Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(a) and 8.4(c) based on recording false and inflated billable hours?

Disposition

other