Opinion ID: 1670703
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Earl Lindsay's Testimony

Text: At the Commissioner's hearing, Earl Lindsay explained that he had become depressed over his professional situation. Because of his previous accountant, the IRS was auditing him. He had been injured in several automobile accidents and suffered from severe muscle spasms in his back. Wanting to keep his fees low to help poor people, he undertook more legal work than he could perform. As he failed to satisfy everyone and the New Orleans economy declined, his business diminished and disappeared. He closed his office on Carrollton Avenue and practiced out of his mother's home. Each new complaint increased Lindsay's despair. He became discouraged when his efforts to repay clients, furnish records, or supply explanations in hearings did not satisfy the Bar Association. He said, I ... began to feel that it didn't matter what I said or what I did or what I provided to the Bar Association.... If I supplied it and it indicated that indeed I had done nothing wrong, I was still going to be punished. [7] Because of depression, Lindsay stopped going to his office on a regular basis and waited days before opening letters from the LSBA. He testified, I'm almost at the point where I just want it to be over with. [8]