Suspension recommended for attorney of ex-Judge Thomas Porteous
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September 26, 2011
Louisiana: The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board has recommended a 30-day suspension for Claude Lightfoot, Jr., the attorney who counseled ex-U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous to file for bankruptcy under a false name. A three-person hearing committee first counseled the suspension, which the Board has found to be an appropriate punishment. However, the Louisiana Supreme Court has the final say in the situation.[1]
Lightfoot, in 2010, advised then-Judge Porteous and his wife to submit fake names when filing for bankruptcy. The hearing committee explained that his "reasoning for this deception was supposedly to protect then-Judge Porteous and his wife's identities from the press and public."[1] The Office of Disciplinary Counsel first filed charges against Lightfoot on October 4, 2010. Judge Porteous was impeached and removed from office for bankruptcy fraud, as well as other offenses.[2]
The Disciplinary Board's full report can be found here: Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, In Re: Claude C. Lightfoot, Jr.
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