Update (03-30-09) re: Sen. Vitter’s missing law license

04-24-09:  IMPORTANT UPDATES AT END OF POST: Senator Vitter is an inactive member of the LSBA although the timing is suspicious:

Wow, that’s very interesting. Here’s an interesting “coincidence” including November, 1999:

A former New Orleans prostitute said she had an affair with Senator David Vitter in 1999 when he was a newly elected House member. The woman, Wendy Ellis, said she saw Mr. Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, two to three times a week from July to November 1999.

Isn’t it also interesting that she tells you how to get information on disciplinary action? I wonder what you will find when you call the Disciplinary Counsel?

So far, no response.  But, importantly, inactive members of the bar must follow the rules of professional conduct so Mr. Vitter isn’t off the hook yet.

1. Still no information regarding Senator Vitter’s membership in the LSBA:

– Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board Supreme Court Cases :

• Louisiana Supreme Court Opinions: No opinion regarding Vitter, David.
• Louisiana Supreme Court Opinions (Before 2000): No opinion regarding Vitter, David.
• Disciplinary Board Recommendations: No recommendation regarding Vitter, David.
• Reports of the Hearing Committees: No reports regarding Vitter, David.

– Who’s Who in ADR 2008: No listing for David Vitter.

– LegalDirectories.com:

• State of License: LA
  Last Name: vitter
  Results sorted by: Attorney Last Name
  No Results Found

– FindLaw Search by Name:

• David Vitter
  Washington, DC
  Map this
  View Profile:
• US House of Representatives
  414 Cannon House Office Building
  Washington, DC 20515
  Phone: (202) 225-3015
  Fax: (202) 225-0739
  Websites associated with this firm:
  http://vitter.house.gov [Broken link]
• Note that this information comes from a now-broken link and dates back to when Mr. Vitter was a United States Representative.

2. Today, I sent the following webmail request to Maryja Serigny, the Member Records Secretary of the Louisiana State Bar Association, with a copy to Senator David Vitter :

Maryja Serigny
Member Records Secretary
Louisiana State Bar Association.

Ms. Serigny,

Although David B. Vitter received his juris doctorate from Tulane University Law School, was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar Association, practiced law in Louisiana and was an adjunct professor of law at Tulane, he is not listed in the Louisiana State Bar Association Membership Directory Active Member Search, Martindale.com or anywhere else as currently being licensed to practice law in Louisiana or any other state. It appears that Mr. Vitter is no longer admitted to practice law in Louisiana but I have been unable to confirm whether Mr. Vitter has ever been admitted to the LSBA and, if so, why he is no longer listed as an active member of the LSBA. Your response to the following questions would help clarify this matter:

1. Is there an online search available for inactive members of the LSBA? Is, so, please respond with a link.
2. Has Mr. Vitter ever been admitted to the LSBA?
3. Is Mr. Vitter currently admitted to the LSBA and, if so, what is his date of admission and current status?
4. Is Mr. Vitter an inactive member of the LSBA? If so, when did he become inactive?
5. If Mr. Vitter was previously admitted but resigned from the LSBA, was it in lieu of discipline or were any disciplinary hearings threatened or pending at the time of his resignation? If so, what was he accused of doing that was a violation of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct?
6. If Mr. Vitter was previously admitted but had his license revoked by the LSBA, please describe his conduct that violated the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct .

Thank you for attention to this matter.

E.M./The Grievance Project

http://grievanceproject.wordpress.com

Crossposted at Oxdown Gazette.

Update on 03-30-09:

I received the following response from Ms. Serigny:

Attorney David B Vitter is an inactive member of the Louisiana State Bar Association. You can find only eligible members on our online member directory. If you need to find someone other than an eligible member you would have to either call or email anyone in the membership dept for that information. Mr. Vitter was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar Association 10/07/1988. He became inactive on 11/19/1999. If you need information regarding disciplinary action, you would need to contact the Disciplinary Counsel, (800) 326-8022. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, my information is below.

Thank You,

Maryja

I knew from my first post on this subject that there was a chance that a non-controversial explanation existed for why Sen. Vitter didn’t appear in the LSBA search.  However, whether he was active or inactive, Sen. Vitter remained subject to the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct, just like Senator Ted Stevens did.  So, though this settles the matter of Sen. Vitter’s admission to the LSBA, it does not address the matter of Sen. Vitter’s admitted criminal transgressions. I’ll try to have more on that soon.What remains weird is that Sen. Vitter fails to even acknowledge his degree and former profession in any of his literature. How many attorneys, active or inactive, keep it a secret that they’re lawyers? What reason would anyone have for trying to eliminate such a significant achievement from their resume’?

Update 2 on 03-30-09:

Ms. Serigny provided a contact at the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board.  Here’s my email to Ms. Swanson:

Barbara Swanson, LADB
Ms. Swanson,

Maryja Serigny, Member Records Secretary, Louisiana State Bar Association, referred me to you for assistance regarding questions related to attorney discipline in Louisiana.  Ms. Serigny informed me that Mr. David B. Vitter is an inactive member of the Louisiana State Bar Association.

1. Do inactive members of the LSBA remain subject to discipline pursuant to the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct?
2. Are there any provisions in the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct which permit an attorney to become inactive in lieu of discipline or to avoid any pending or threatened disciplinary proceedings?
3. Has Mr. Vitter ever been the subject of disciplinary proceedings for violations of the Louisiana Rules of Professional Conduct?  If so, please describe his conduct that was the subject for review.

Thank you for attention to this matter.

E.M./The Grievance Project

http://grievanceproject.wordpress.com

Update 3 on 04-30-09:

Welcome back, Senator Vitter:

156.33.35.53 (U.S. Senate Sergeant At Arms)District Of Columbia, Washington, United States, 0 returning visit Date Time WebPage April 2nd 2009 04:20:36 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/sen-vitter-why-did-you-lose-your-license-to-practice-law/

156.33.35.98 (U.S. Senate Sergeant At Arms)District Of Columbia, Washington, United States, 0 returning visit Date Time WebPage April 2nd 2009 04:01:41 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/ April 2nd 2009 04:01:58 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/about/ April 2nd 2009 04:02:53 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/ April 2nd 2009 04:06:44 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/ April 2nd 2009 04:06:55 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/sen-vitter-why-did-you-lose-your-license-to-practice-law/

156.33.35.47 (U.S. Senate Sergeant At Arms)District Of Columbia, Washington, United States, 0 returning visit Date Time WebPage April 2nd 2009 03:58:44 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/ April 2nd 2009 03:58:51 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/ April 2nd 2009 04:00:24 PM No referring link grievanceproject.wordpress.com/about/

Tags: David Vitter, Louisiana, Louisiana State Bar Association, Sen. David Vitter

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• CREW FILES SENATE ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST SENATOR DAVID VITTER
• Vitter: Breaking The Law Is Not A Crime But A Sin
• Vitter: “No Idea” if Loving v. Virginia Rightly Decided