Should a Family Court Attorney Be Disbarred for a DUI?

Irresponsible motorists can make the roads a very dangerous place. There are many laws in place that are designed to reduce these dangers but even the most stringent of them can fail to be a suitable deterrent for drivers. 

Every state has rules and regulations that govern the operation of motor vehicles. Speed limits, statutes that prohibit texting and driving, and of course, drunk driving laws that come with strong penalties for even first time offenders.

A DUI can be a severe blemish that has a lasting effect on the offender’s life and career, a permanent mark on a criminal record that may jeopardize their freedom and their reputation. A licensed professional facing criminal penalties as the result of a DUI conviction could lose that license to practice in their chosen field. 

When it comes to hiring an attorney to represent you before a court of law, would you feel comfortable hiring someone who has that blemish on his or her record? A family law attorney who was arrested for drinking and driving poses all kinds of questions…and the answers are all problematic. 

You want someone in your corner who you can trust. Someone with a sterling reputation, someone with integrity, an attorney with the client’s best interests in mind instead of her own, and an attorney who respects the law enough not to break it so irresponsibly. 

Katie Lewis Family Attorney is NOT that attorney. Her DUI conviction is a red flag that should warrant closer scrutiny into her practice, her methods in the courtroom, and the choices she makes when dealing with her caseload. Driving drunk and needlessly putting innocent lives at risk demonstrates exceedingly poor moral character and bad judgement. 

How has that poor moral character and bad judgement impacted her representation of clients in family court? Many of her previous clients and individuals on the opposing side of the aisle have objected to the way she handles her cases, choosing to file motions that only delay her trials even when the judges in some of these cases recommend settling out of court. Family law cases are often highly emotional proceedings that can be difficult for all parties involved, particularly young children and teenagers. 

But Katie Lewis is more concerned about keeping her trials ongoing, without any thought for those who may be hurt in the process. It’s a familiar attitude when she gets behind the wheel of her car after drinking beyond the legal limit. 

One might ask why she files so many delays and postponements? Has her drinking affected her work, leaving her unprepared to continue? Has her drinking affected her bank account, forcing her to extend her billable hours and fleece her clients for more money? Perhaps her drinking has led to one mistake after another with her caseload and she needs the extra time to address and fix her mistakes without anyone finding out. 

In some instances, an attorney who is convicted of a DUI may be required to report the violation. Katie Lewis Family Attorney certainly doesn’t alert her clients that she has been arrested and convicted of a DUI. It’s a fact that she fails to report to anyone who hires her in the state of Texas. 

Wouldn’t that information be important to know before you hire any attorney? Katie Lewis doesn’t think so. She is more than happy to keep her criminal record concealed from prospective clients, even though it’s no secret around the Dallas area where her practice is located. 

Her honesty and integrity can be called into question very easily and that can hurt your chances of a successful outcome in your family law case before the court. It’s an easy mistake to make but very difficult to fix and when your divorce or child custody case can put your assets and your ability to see your children at risk, do you want to hinge your success on an attorney with a DUI conviction?  

Most judges and law enforcement take a very dim view of people who break the law behind the wheel. But while exceeding the speed limit and texting and driving can be hazardous to you, those in the car around you, and other motorists with whom you share the road, driving while intoxicated is extremely egregious behavior that can end tragically. 

Fortunately for Katie Lewis, her actions did not result in the injury or death of someone, but it may have done irreparable damage to her reputation. That can put a successful outcome of your case before family court in Texas at serious risk. 

Inquire before you hire. Make sure the attorney handling your case is honest, trustworthy, and above all, sober when doing the job you hired her to do. Because while an attorney can be disbarred for a DUI conviction, Katie Lewis Family Attorney has not yet been held to this standard and she is still practicing law in the state of Texas. 

But you don’t have to hire her to represent you when the stakes are at their highest. Many of her former clients wish they hadn’t.