Louisiana Attorney Search: LSBA Directory and LADB Discipline

To run a Louisiana attorney search, use two free state databases: the Louisiana State Bar Association’s membership directory to confirm the lawyer is licensed and in good standing, and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board’s status search to check for public discipline. Neither takes more than a minute, and together they tell you almost everything the public record has to say about a Louisiana lawyer.

How to Search the LSBA Membership Directory

The LSBA directory lives at lsba.org. You’ll complete a word verification, then search by attorney name, bar identification number, city, or parish.¹ A result gives you the lawyer’s primary office address, phone number, date of admission to the bar, and current membership status.

Status is the field that matters. An attorney marked Eligible is licensed, current on bar dues, current on mandatory continuing legal education, and has filed the annual trust account disclosure with the Louisiana Supreme Court.² Anything other than Eligible means the person cannot currently represent you in Louisiana.

What Each Membership Status Means

The LSBA uses more than a dozen labels, and they don’t all mean the same kind of problem. The ones you’re most likely to see:

Eligible — licensed and in good standing; the only status that authorizes practice.
Inactive — the attorney voluntarily stopped practicing; no dues or CLE required, and they cannot represent clients.
Ineligible — failed to pay annual dues.
Ineligible MCLE — failed to complete mandatory continuing legal education.
Ineligible TAD — failed to file the annual trust account disclosure.
Suspended or Disbarred — disciplined by the Louisiana Supreme Court through the Disciplinary Board; cannot practice.
Resigned — surrendered the Louisiana license.
Emeritus — limited to pro bono work or uncompensated work for family.

A lawyer who quietly stops paying dues without formally going inactive is classified as ineligible, not inactive. Getting back to eligible requires paying back dues for every year of the lapse plus penalties and reinstatement fees.² Any ineligible status is worth investigating further through the disciplinary board.

Checking Discipline Through the LADB

The LSBA directory confirms licensing. It won’t tell you whether the lawyer has been publicly reprimanded, suspended, or disbarred. For that, run the attorney’s name through the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board search at ladb.org/Search.³⁴⁵

The LADB uses its own, more granular status codes. It distinguishes ineligibility for unpaid bar dues (INE), unpaid disciplinary costs (IDC), unpaid disciplinary assessment (SCI), CLE noncompliance (MCL), trust account noncompliance (TRU), and unpaid child support (SCS).³ Those codes can tell you exactly why a lawyer is not currently eligible.

Know the limits of the LADB search before you rely on it. The board will not confirm or deny whether a complaint has been filed, whether an investigation is open, or whether an attorney received private discipline. Only current administrative suspensions and resolved public disciplinary actions appear. Suspensions that have been resolved are removed from the online results.³ A clean search means no public discipline is currently on record, not that no complaint has ever been made.

What Louisiana Disciplinary Sanctions Look Like

If the LADB search does turn something up, the sanction on the record falls into one of five categories under Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XIX. The severity depends on the misconduct, the harm caused, and the lawyer’s prior history:

Disbarment — the attorney loses the license entirely. In extreme cases the court can impose permanent disbarment with no possibility of readmission.
Suspension — barred from practicing for a fixed period, up to three years.
Probation — continued practice under supervision for up to two years, renewable for another two, reserved for situations where the public faces little risk during rehabilitation.
Reprimand — a formal written censure published in the state bar journal and in a newspaper of general circulation where the attorney practiced.
Admonition — a written warning that constitutes private discipline, imposed before formal charges are filed and limited to minor misconduct with little or no client injury.

Only the first four are public. Admonitions stay confidential, though the bar may publish an anonymous summary for educational purposes.⁶ That is another reason a clean LADB result is a floor rather than a ceiling.

Verifying a Board-Certified Specialist

Any Louisiana lawyer can advertise a focus area. Board certification is different: it’s a formal credential from the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, which the Louisiana Supreme Court established in 1993, and you can search for certified specialists through the LSBA website.⁷

There are nine certification areas: Appellate Practice, Business Bankruptcy Law, Consumer Bankruptcy Law, Employment Law, Estate Planning and Administration, Family Law, Health Law, Labor Law, and Tax Law. Certification requires at least five years of full-time practice, a minimum percentage of practice devoted to the specialty each year, a passing score on a written examination, and five favorable peer references.⁸ Certification is not required to practice in any of these areas, and many skilled attorneys never pursue it, but for a lawyer you don’t personally know it’s a verified baseline that goes beyond self-reported experience.

If Your Search Turns Up a Problem

Two things you can do if the record raises concerns or if you’ve already been harmed.

You can file a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. It must be in writing, either on the LADB’s official complaint form or in a letter that gives your name, address, phone number, the attorney’s information, a description of what the lawyer did or failed to do, and relevant dates. Attach copies of any letters, agreements, or documents that support your account. Mail it to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, 4000 S. Sherwood Forest Blvd., Suite 607, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816, or call (225) 293-3900 or (800) 326-8022 to request a form.⁹ If writing a complaint is difficult, a personal interview may be arranged after the written complaint is filed.

If a Louisiana lawyer stole, converted, or embezzled money you paid or entrusted to them, the LSBA’s Client Assistance Fund may reimburse the loss. The fund is a last resort for victims of attorney dishonesty. It does not cover fee disputes, negligence, or unsatisfactory results. Applying requires the fund’s Application for Relief form, proof of loss, and any engagement letters or contracts. Two things have to happen before the fund will consider a claim: you file a complaint with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, and you file a theft report with local law enforcement. Reimbursement is discretionary, and other avenues of recovery must be exhausted first.¹⁰

1
Louisiana State Bar Association. Louisiana State Bar Association
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Louisiana State Bar Association. LSBA Membership Status Descriptions
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Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. LADB Attorney Status Search
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Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board
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Louisiana Supreme Court. Disciplinary Board
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Louisiana Supreme Court. Rule XIX
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Louisiana State Bar Association. Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization Specialists
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Louisiana State Bar Association. Plan of Legal Specialization
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Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. LADB Complaint Process
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Louisiana State Bar Association. Client Assistance Fund Application for Relief