Former Evangeline Parish A.D.A. Timmy Fontenot disbarred

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Former Evangeline Parish prosecutor Timmy Fontenot was disbarred by the Supreme Court of Louisiana on November 28, 2017, after the state disciplinary board found malpractice in his private legal work.
Through the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board’s investigation, it found that Fontenot settled a personal injury case for his clients, Francis and Ellen Ortego, “without their consent,” and “forged their names on the settlement check and release documents.”
The board also found that Fontenot “lied and misled his clients regarding the amount of the settlement,” and “did not pay the settlement proceeds to his clients until 2013,” five years after he settled the matter.
The La. Supreme Court’s opinion stated, “This type of deception cannot be tolerated by attorneys.”
According to the opinion, Fontenot “has previously been disciplined for misconduct which included misrepresentation.” The opinion went on to state that the fully deferred suspension for his previous misconduct “did not have the intended effect of reforming respondent’s (Fontenot) behavior.”
“Accordingly,” the opinion goes on to state, “we will disbar respondent.”
In the Supreme Court’s decree, it states that Fontenot “hereby is disbarred,” and “his name shall be stricken from the roll of attorneys and his license to practice law in the State of Louisiana shall be revoked.”
Following the opinion, the court, on December 14, 2017, denied a rehearing for Fontenot.
The matter investigated by the LADB was not related to Fontenot’s work with the Evangeline Parish District Attorney’s Office, which he resigned from back in January of this year when formal charges were filed by the LADB.
The Ortego case, instead, was a lawsuit that Fontenot handled in his private law firm.
Following Fontenot’s resignation, Evangeline Parish District Attorney Trent Brignac hired local attorney Christopher Ludeau as Fontenot’s replacement.