Taking Money From a Client Trust Account Warrants Severe Disciplinary Sanction
Post number 5383
Stealing from a Client is Reprehensible
Read the full article at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lawyer-state-senator-permanently-disbarred-barry-zalma-esq-cfe-ixf9e and at https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5350 posts.
In Re: Derrick D.T. Shepherd, No. 2026-OB-00357, Supreme Court of Louisiana (June 25, 2026) petitioner Derrick D.T. Shepherd, a former Louisiana State Senator and attorney, pleaded guilty in 2008 to conspiracy to commit money laundering after using his client trust account to help launder nearly $141,000 in fraudulently generated bond fees. The Louisiana Supreme Court permanently disbarred him in 2012.
Shepard returned $75,000 to Ms. Moyo and kept the rest of the funds for himself, using $20,000 to retire his campaign debt. To conceal all of this activity, Shepard created false billing statements and time records reflecting work his law firm had purportedly done on behalf of his “client,” Ms. Moyo.
FACTS
Shepherd later sought relief from the permanent disbarment order in 2020, 2023, and again in 2026, requesting reconsideration and an evidentiary hearing on mitigation, rehabilitation, and sanction.
LAW
The principal legal framework is Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XIX, § 10, which authorizes permanent disbarment in cases of especially egregious attorney misconduct and as described in the court’s commentary, bars an attorney permanently disbarred under those circumstances from applying for readmission.
DISCUSSION
Chief Justice Weimer focused on two related concerns: the finality of Shepherd’s permanent disbarment and the propriety of representation by a former justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
ANALYSIS
The concurrence reasons that Shepherd’s request would effectively relitigate a sanction the court had definitively imposed in 2012 and emphasized that permanent disbarment was adopted as a deliberate public-protection measure.
CONCLUSION
The Louisiana Supreme Court denied Shepherd’s application for rehearing and underscored the importance of preserving public confidence in the legal profession and avoiding any appearance that former judicial status or personal connections could influence court outcomes.
ZALMA OPINION
Lawyers are expected to be honorable and care more for his client than his personal needs. A lawyer who steals from his client violates the basic oath he or she takes on being admitted to practice law. When attorney Shepard stole from Ms. Moyo and an insurer he put into motion the destruction of his career.
(c) 2026 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Post 5396
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