Friday, February 13, 2009
Page 3
Suspended Attorney Faces Unauthorized Practice Charges
By a MetNews Staff Writer
A suspended West Hollywood attorney faces four felony charges of engaging in the unauthorized practice of law, the District Attorney’s Office said yesterday.
The arraignment of Crane Stephen Landis, 43, is scheduled for Thursday at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.
An arrest warrant for Landis was issued January 14, and he surrendered to authorities on Wednesday. He was released on his own recognizance, but could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Deputy District Attorney Amy Pellman Pentz of the Justice System Integrity Division alleged that Landis, a former defense attorney who practiced out of a West Hollywood office, made four separate appearances in court between September 2006 and October 2007 after becoming ineligible to practice law.
Landis, a graduate of UCLA and U.C. Hastings law school, has twice been suspended from the practice of law. He was first ordered inactive in 2003 for failing to comply with MCLE requirements.
In 2006, he was suspended again for failing to pay dues and to comply with MCLE requirements.
During a default proceedings, the State Bar later found that Landis had committed misconduct in two client matters while he was on inactive status.
State Bar records show that on June 12 of last year, Landis was suspended for one year, stayed, and was actually suspended for 90 days and until the State Bar Court grants a motion to terminate the suspension
If convicted as charged, Landis faces a maximum state prison term of five years.
Copyright 2009, Metropolitan News Company