TO BE PUBLISHED



# Supreme Court of Kentucky

2020

- SC

- 0543

- KB

ALECIA LOCOCO MOVANT

V. IN SUPREME COURT

KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION RESPONDENT

OPINION AND ORDER

Alecia Lococo, whose Bar Number is 84175 and Bar Roster Address is
1001 Whitewood Bend , LaGrange, Kentucky 40031, requests this Court to approve her Application for Reinstatement to the Kentucky Bar. We approve her application after reviewing the Character and Fitness C ommittee’s findings
of her rehabilitated behavior and the Board of Governor s ’s unanimous vote for reinstatement. We find Lococo may be reinstated upon complying with her Kentucky Lawyer Assistance Program (KYLAP) Supervision Agreement and the provisions o f SCR 3.510(4), passing the bar examination , and paying the costs
in this matter.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND This matter involves Alecia Lococo’s Application for Reinstatement that

came before the Board of Governors in March 2020. Lococo , who was admitted2

to the Kentucky bar in 1991 , w as sus pended from the practice of law after two disciplinary actions were brought against her. The first action , resulting in Lococo’s temporary suspension , was Inquiry Commission v. Lococo , 18 S.W.3d 341 (Ky. 2000). A probable

- cau se determination was later made in Kentucky
Bar Association v. Lococo , 54 S.W.3d 164 (Ky. 2001) , that Lococo was negligent in maintaining an adequate accounting system for handling client funds and that she misappropriated for her own benefit funds held for others. She was suspended for three years. In 2006, Lococo was suspended again for six months for conduct that
occurred before the first dis cipli nary action began. Lococo moved for that suspension to run concurrently to the previously imposed three

- year suspension . The KBA agreed , and this Court sustained that agreement. In October 2017, Lococo filed her application f or reinstatement under Kentucky Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 3.510. In December 2017 she filed her Questionnaire Response with the Chara cter and Fitness Committee. KBA Bar Counsel and Committee held a reinstatement hearing in October 2019. At the hearing, Lococo submitted the affidavits of Dr. Stephen Lamb, her psychiatrist , and Phil Wicker, an attorney. The affidavits established that a t the time of Lococo’s professional misconduct she was suffering from undiagnosed Adult Attention

- Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The affidavits also established that after she was suspended she sought medical treatment and has been compliant with all treatment recommendations for 17
years. In sum, the Character and Fitness Committee found Lococo had3

satisfied all requirements for reinstatement , including compliance with all terms of her suspension ; that while under suspension she showed she is

wor thy of the trust and confidence of the public ; that she has sufficient professional capabilities to serve the public as a lawyer ; she exhibits good
moral character ; she appreciates the wrongfulness of her misconduct ; she has manifested remorse for her prof ession al misconduct ; and she has rehabilitated herself from her past mistakes. Additionally, t he KBA Bar Counsel agreed to Lococo’s reinstatement subject to her having a mentor , given the length of time she had been suspended. After reviewing the Character and Fitness Committee’s findings, as well as the record of Lococo’s disciplinary actions, the Board of Governors recommended her reinstatement application be approved. It additionally
recommended KYLAP monitoring and mentorin g , all the requirements under SCR 3.510(4) , 1 completion of the bar exam, and payment of costs in this matter. We adopt the Board of Governors’ recommendatio n . We have approved reinstatement applications like Lococo’s before. In Gabbard v. Kentucky Bar As sociation , 2 an attorney was suspended for one year because of his failure to adequately represent two clients. Gabbard had accepted payments from two different clients but did not complete the work
and did not return the fees. 3 When the period of his suspension ended , the

1 Kentucky Supreme Court Rule.

2 291 S.W.3d 221 (Ky. 2009).

3 Id . at 221.4

Character and Fitness Committee recommended a five

- year supervision under
KYLAP. 4 The Board of Governors voted unanimously to reinstate Gabbard after finding his actions reflected the rehabilitation of his behavior

. 5 After consider ing the Character and Fitness Committee ’s findings and the Board’s
recommendations , we accepted Gabbard’s application for reinstatement.
While Lococo ’s suspen sion was for three

- and

- a
- half years , unlike the

one
- year suspension discussed in Gabbard , we have approved of reinstatement for similar terms of suspension . In Huffman v. Kentucky Bar Association , 6 an attorney received a four

- year suspension after she was found guilty of engaging in illegal conduct involving moral turpitude; conduct involvin g dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; and conduct which adversely reflected upon her fitness to practice law. 7 Huffman’s ethical violations stemmed from her participation in a monetary kickback scheme to assist an elected official fund a campaign. 8 This Court approved Huffman’s application after the Board voted unanimously for reinstatement because she demonstrated rehabilitated
behavio r and had completed all necessary administrative steps. 9 We find the circumstances here to be like thos e in Gabbard and Huffman . Lococo was suspended for 3.5 years after two disciplinary actions

4 Id . at 221

– 22.

5 Id . at 222.

6 14 S.W.3d 555, 556 (Ky. 2000).

7 Id

. 8 Id

. 9 Id

.5

were brought against her. Since then , she has been rehabilitated and completed all terms necessary for reinstatement. A nd the Board of Governors, Kentucky Bar Co unsel, and the Character and Fitness Committee endorse

r einstatement . For these reasons , we gra nt Lococo ’s reinstatement provided she pay all costs related to this action and comply with the conditions of
reinstatement. It is hereby ORDERED that:
1. Alecia Lococo’s application for reinstatement to the practice of law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky under SCR 3.510(3) and SCR 3.510(6) is granted upon the conditions that she adhere to the provisions set forth in h erKYLAP Supervision Agreement, the provisions of SCR 3.510(4), and that she pass the bar examination.
2. Under SCR 3.510(1), Lococo is directed to pay the costs associated with these proceedings in the amount of $1,179.17, for which execution may issue from the Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order. All sitting. All concur.
ENTERED: APRIL 29, 2021

______________________________________ CHIEF JUSTICE