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In re Cuccia12/17/1999
ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
This attorney disciplinary proceeding arises from a petition for consent discipline filed by respondent, Richard A. Cuccia, an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Louisiana but currently on interim suspension.
UNDERLYING FACTS
Respondent was admitted to the practice of law in Louisiana in 1993. Within a few years of commencing his practice, respondent began to employ runners to solicit personal injury clients. Respondent paid approximately two dozen runners the sum of $500 for each personal injury client solicited following an automobile accident. Respondent also employed nearly a dozen secretaries, legal assistants, and clerical help to assist him in "processing" these personal injury claims. The volume of respondent's practice -- some 90 to 100 new clients each month --suggests that respondent's supervision of his employees was minimal and gave rise to many instances of unauthorized practice of law.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel ("ODC") began to receive a number of complaints concerning respondent, often involving allegations of neglect, failure to communicate, failure to properly account, and similar misconduct. Occasionally, allegations were also made that these clients had been solicited. In each instance, respondent denied the allegations. However, many, if not all, of the runners employed by respondent have been previously identified by the ODC through its prosecution of other Louisiana attorneys involved in the runner-based solicitation industry. As the ODC's investigation progressed, it was determined that multiple runners had solicited personal injury cases on respondent's behalf, typically at an accident scene, and had taken prospective clients directly to respondent's office. Numerous clients and others were able to confirm that respondent was an active player in the "solicitation industry."
Confronted with this evidence, respondent initiated negotiations with the ODC to resolve the disciplinary cases pending against him. Respondent eventually agreed to seek immediate interim suspension, submit a petition for consent disbarment, cooperate with the ODC in its ongoing investigation of runner-based solicitation, and cooperate with ongoing investigations by state and federal authorities.
DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
Prior to the filing of formal charges, respondent filed a petition for consent discipline. Respondent admitted to violations of Rules 1.4 (failure to communicate with a client), 1.8(k) (solicitation of a power of attorney authorizing the attorney to enter into a binding settlement agreement on behalf of the client), 1.15 (safekeeping property of a client or third person), 1.16 (termination of the representation), 5.3 (failure to supervise non-lawyer assistants), and 7.2 (improper solicitation of prospective clients) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. As a sanction, he proposed that he be disbarred, effective as of the date of his interim suspension.
The ODC concurred in the petition. The ODC concluded that the evidence against respondent, when considered in light of his admission of misconduct, clearly warrants the imposition of disbarment.
Disciplinary Board Recommendation
The disciplinary board found respondent has admitted that he engaged in the misconduct set forth in the petition for consent discipline. Relying on the ABA's Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions and on jurisprudence from this court, the board concluded the proposed consent discipline is appropriate:
definite pattern of misconduct can be seen on the part of the Respondent, with approximately two dozen runners employed
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