SAN FRANCISCO – Longtime Claremont attorney Louis Julian White faces suspension and probation following an Aug. 8 California Supreme Court order and his overturned conviction last year on embezzlement and grand theft charges, according to a recent State Bar of California announcement and court documents.
The Supreme Court handed down a stayed three-year suspension and three years of conditional probation with a minimum of the first two years on suspension. White will remain suspended until he provides proof to the California State Bar Court of his "rehabilitation, fitness to practice and present learning and ability in the general law," the Supreme Court's order said.
Conditions of White's probation also include passing the multistate professional responsibility examination as previously recommended by the State Bar Court's Hearing Department. White also was ordered to pay costs.
White's discipline will be effective Saturday, Sept. 7, according to an announcement recently posted on the state bar's website.
White was admitted to the bar in California on Dec. 7, 1988, according to his profile at the state bar website. White had no prior discipline before the state bar, according to his profile.
In January of last year, the Orange County District Attorney's office filed a felony complaint against White, charging him with attempted embezzlement and grand theft by false pretense, according to the stipulation filed with the State Bar Court in April. The following March, White pleaded guilty to misdemeanor versions of the charges and was sentenced to a day in jail and three years of informal probation, in addition to being ordered to pay restitution.
White's formal probation was to terminate after he paid restitution, which he informed the court he had done in a notice filed the following April. The court granted White's motion and terminated his probation in May of last year, according to the stipulation.
The following September, the court granted White's petition for dismissal, vacated his guilty pleas, allowed a plea of not guilty to be entered and then dismissed the district attorney's complaint.
In November, the State Bar Court referred the matter to the Hearing Department for a hearing and decision recommended White be disciplined based on his initial conviction on charged that "involved moral turpitude as a matter of law," the stipulation said.
White was placed on interim suspension in December.