Reinstatements from probation and following a tax issue, as well as a probation, were amount attorney discipline-related decisions handed down in November by the Missouri Supreme Court.
West Plains attorney Schuyler George Laverentz is again eligible to practice law in Missouri following a Nov. 9 Missouri Supreme Court order, which terminated his previous probation after he filed a motion with the court that he successfully completed his probationary period. Laverentz had been on probation since June 2015, following a Missouri Supreme Court order that month, when the court handed down a stayed indefinite suspension of his law license and placed Laverentz on two years probation over allegations.
The court's decision arose from allegations Laverentz had violated court rules about the safekeeping of property and responsibilities regarding non-lawyer assistance, according to the state supreme court's June 2015 order. Laverentz also had been required to pay $1,500 in costs. Laverentz was admitted to the bar in Missouri on Sept. 29, 2004, according to his profile at the Missouri State Bar's website.
In another decision, North Little Rock, Arkansas attorney Cara Renee Fitzgerald has been reinstated following a Nov. 3 Missouri Supreme Court order after a tax issue had been resolved. Fitzgerald had been suspended in May. Fitzgerald was admitted to the bar in Missouri on Sept. 18, 2013, according to her profile at the Missouri State Bar's website.
St. Louis attorney Christopher Risler is on probation following a Nov. 21 Missouri Supreme Court order over allegations he violated multiple rules of professional conduct. The high court handed down a stayed indefinite suspension against Risler and placed him on two years' probation starting with the date of the order. Should his probation be revoked and the suspension invoked, Risler will have leave to petition for reinstatement after one year from the date that suspension became effective, according to the order. Risler also was ordered to pay $1,500 in costs, according to the order.