IN RE: Cynthia Ann Langston STERNBERG (2022)

Petitioner transferred from interim disability inactive status to active status. Petition for permanent resignation from the practice of law in lieu of discipline granted. See per curiam.

DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel (“ODC”) filed two sets of formal charges against respondent, Cynthia Ann Langston Sternberg. On February 1, 2022, respondent filed a petition requesting that this court transfer her to disability inactive status on the ground she was unable to assist in the defense of the pending disciplinary charges. On February 2, 2022, we issued an order transferring respondent to interim disability inactive status pending a hearing on her claim of inability to defend these charges. Respondent did not appear at the scheduled hearing. Finding respondent failed to satisfy her burden of proof, the hearing committee recommended that respondent's petition for disability inactive status be denied and that she be returned to active status from interim disability inactive status.

Prior to action by this court on the recommendation, respondent supplemented her earlier filing with a “Petition for Permanent Resignation from the Practice of Law in Lieu of Discipline.” The ODC has concurred in the petition.

Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule XIX, § 20.1, a lawyer against whom formal charges of misconduct have or may be filed can petition this court to resign permanently from the practice of law in lieu of discipline. Section 20.1(A) requires such petitions be accompanied by the lawyer's affidavit of consent, which must conform to the requirements set forth in the rule. The rule further requires that all disciplinary costs incurred by the disciplinary board in the investigation and/or proceedings associated therewith be paid in full.

A review of respondent's petition indicates all these requirements have been satisfied. In particular, respondent executed a sworn affidavit of consent, in which she avers her request is “freely and voluntarily submitted,” that she is “not being subjected to coercion or duress” and that she is “fully aware of the implications of submitting this request for permanent resignation from the practice of law.” Although respondent has previously raised questions over her ability to defend these proceedings, we believe her sworn representations in the affidavit of consent as well as the recommendation of the hearing committee that she be returned to active status demonstrate she is competent to request that she be allowed to permanently resign from the practice of law in lieu of discipline.

Accordingly, we will transfer respondent to active status and simultaneously accept her petition for permanent resignation from the practice of law in lieu of discipline.

DECREE

For the reasons assigned, it is ordered that Cynthia Ann Langston Sternberg, also known as Cynthia Ann Langston, Louisiana Bar Roll number 20912, be transferred from interim disability inactive status to active status, and that her petition for permanent resignation in lieu of discipline is hereby granted. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule XIX, § 20.1 and Rule 5.5 of the Rules of Professional Conduct, she shall be permanently prohibited from practicing law in Louisiana or in any other jurisdiction in which she is admitted to the practice of law; shall be permanently prohibited from seeking readmission to the practice of law in this state or in any other jurisdiction in which she is admitted; and shall be permanently prohibited from seeking admission to the practice of law in any jurisdiction.