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ATTORNEY FOR THE RESPONDENT Pro se

ATTORNEYS FOR THE INDIANA SUPREME COURT DISCIPLINARY COMMISSION G. Michael Witte, Executive Secretary Dennis K. McKinney, Staff Attorney Indianapolis, Indiana

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Indiana Supreme Court
_________________________________ No. 49S00-0907-DI-331 IN THE MATTER OF: LAWRENCE T. NEWMAN, Respondent. _________________________________ Attorney Discipline Action Hearing Officer Barbara Collins _________________________________

In the

FILED
Dec 20 2011, 1:25 pm
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

CLERK

December 20, 2011 Per Curiam.

We find that Respondent, Lawrence T. Newman, engaged in attorney misconduct by failing to comply with a client's reasonable requests for an accounting of the hours he worked prior to being discharged, by charging an unreasonable fee, by failing to withdraw from representation promptly after being discharged, and by failing to return the client's file after its retention was no longer necessary to secure payment of his fee.

For this misconduct, committed with the motivation of gaining unfair leverage in his fee dispute with his client, we find that Respondent should be suspended from the practice of law in this state for at least 18 months without automatic reinstatement.

This matter is before the Court on the report of the hearing officer appointed by this Court to hear evidence on the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission's "Verified Complaint for Disciplinary Action," and on the post-hearing briefing by the parties. Respondent's 1987 admission to this state's bar subjects him to this Court's disciplinary jurisdiction. See IND. CONST. art. 7,

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Indiana Law