IN RE: Charles E. HOUSTON (2020)

ORDER

By opinion dated March 30, 2016, this Court suspended Petitioner from the practice of law for nine months. In re Houston, 415 S.C. 594, 784 S.E.2d 238 (2016). Petitioner filed a petition for reinstatement pursuant to Rule 33, RLDE, Rule 413, SCACR. Following a hearing, the Committee on Character and Fitness recommended the Court reinstate Petitioner to the practice of law with certain conditions.

We find Petitioner has met the requirements of Rule 33(f), RLDE, Rule 413, SCACR. Accordingly, we grant Petitioner's petition and reinstate him to the practice of law in this state with the following conditions should Petitioner choose to open his own practice:

(1) Petitioner shall employ an accountant to handle all business and client accounts;

(2) Petitioner shall select a mentor who is a member in good standing of the South Carolina Bar and regularly consult with the mentor for the first two year of his reinstatement;

(3) the mentor shall report to the Commission on Lawyer Conduct (the Commission) concerning Petitioner's efforts to comply with the Rules of Professional Responsibility and the Appellate Court Rules as well as Petitioner's firm organizational structure and systems, including calendaring, record keeping, and compliance techniques and practices;

(4) the mentor shall report to the Commission on a quarterly basis for the first year of Petitioner's reinstatement and a semi-annual basis for the second year of Petitioner's reinstatement.

/s/ Donald W. Beatty, C.J.

/s/ John W. Kittredge, J.

/s/ Kaye G. Hearn, J.

/s/ John Cannon Few, J.

/s/ George C. James, Jr., J.