Kansas City attorney Lydia Marie Carson has been suspended following a Nov. 21 Missouri Supreme Court order over allegations arising from three bankruptcy cases and other charges, including advertising on Craigslist without a required disclosure.
The state Supreme Court found Carson guilty of professional misconduct, ordered her suspension with leave to apply for reinstatement after three years from the date of the order and to pay $1,000 in costs, according to the high court's order.
This past April, a regional disciplinary hearing panel found that Carson knowingly made false statements to two bankruptcy courts, disobeyed an obligation to report public discipline to the federal court clerk and omitted certain disclosures in her advertising, according to the chief disciplinary counsel's brief. That panel recommended Carson be suspended indefinitely with leave to apply for reinstatement after three years while Carson asked for a stayed suspension with probation, according to Carson's brief and that of the chief disciplinary counsel.
The chief disciplinary counsel, in its brief, asked that Carson be suspended or disbarred.
Carson has been licensed to practice law in Missouri since 1983, according to her brief and that of the office of chief disciplinary counsel.
In a previous discipline, Carson was reprimanded in February 2013 over allegations that she violated rules of professional conduct. She also has been admonished four times, according to Carson's brief and that of the office of chief disciplinary counsel.
The state bar's chief disciplinary counsel began disciplinary proceedings against Carson in December 2015 over alleged issues stemming from three related bankruptcy cases, according to Carson's brief and that of the chief disciplinary counsel. In those three bankruptcy cases, Carson was ordered to return more than $26,000 to the bankruptcy estate, according to the chief disciplinary counsel's brief.
The office of chief disciplinary counsel also found that Carson failed for three years to report to the federal court clerk that she'd been reprimanded in February 2013. Carson also allegedly failed to respond to court orders directing her to disclose compensation and payments she received in a prior bankruptcy, according to the chief disciplinary counsel's brief.
Carson also allegedly advertised on Craigslist without including the required disclosure "the choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertising," according to the chief disciplinary counsel's brief.