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SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA NO. 99-B-3041

IN RE: RICHARD A. CUCCIA

ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS

PER CURIAM*
This attorney disciplinary proceeding arises from a petition for consent discipline filed by respondent, Richard A. Cuccia, an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Louisiana but currently on interim suspension.1

UNDERLYING FACTS Respondent was admitted to the practice of law in Louisiana in 1993. Within a few years of commencing his practice, respondent began to employ runners to solicit personal injury clients. Respondent paid approximately two dozen runners the sum of $500 for each personal injury client solicited following an automobile accident. Respondent also employed nearly a dozen secretaries, legal assistants, and clerical help to assist him in "processing" these personal injury claims.2 The volume of respondent's practice -- some 90 to 100 new clients each month -- suggests that respondent's supervision of his employees was minimal and gave rise to many instances of unauthorized practice of law. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel ("ODC") began to receive a number of complaints concerning respondent, often involving allegations of neglect, failure to communicate, failure to properly account, and similar misconduct. Occasionally, allegations were also made that these clients had been solicited. In each instance, respondent denied the allegations. However, many, if not all,

*

Lemmon, J., not on panel. Rule IV, Part II,

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