About the Board

Board Member Profiles -- 2010

MICHAEL S. WALSH, Board Chair: A 1983 graduate of the LSU Law Center, Mr. Walsh is a member of the Louisiana and Texas Bar Associations. Mr. Walsh is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the United States Middle, Eastern and Western District Courts of Louisiana, the Southern District of Mississippi and the Southern District of Texas.

Mr. Walsh is currently the Chairman of the Criminal Law Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association, a Past President of both the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Baton Rouge Bar of Criminal Justice and a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Texas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Mr. Walsh is currently serving as a Director-At-Large of the Baton Rouge Bar Association and the Baton Rouge Bar Foundation. Mr. Walsh also serves as a member of the Executive Board of the Istrouma Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and is a veteran of the United States Army.

Mr. Walsh is a past Chairman of the Board of the Capital Area Family Violence Intervention Center, Inc. having served in that capacity during the acquisition of the present Battered Women's Shelter.

Mr. Walsh has been active in the litigation of numerous constitutional issues and is currently representing multiple clients who are being investigated and prosecuted by the Federal Government.

WILLIAM D. AARON, JR., Board Vice-Chair: Mr. Aaron is a principal in the New Orleans firm of Goins Aaron, PLC. He is a graduate of Duke University and Loyola University School of Law. Mr. Aaron is admitted to legal practice in Louisiana and the District of Columbia. He is an Organizer and Director of First NBC Bank a De Novo Commercial Bank chartered by the State of Louisiana in May of 2006.

Mr. Aaron has over thirty (30) years of legal experience in the private and public sectors, and is a former City Attorney for the City of New Orleans. He concentrates his practice in the areas of complex and high profile civil and commercial litigation, state and municipal government, telecommunications, professional liability and general business.

Mr. Aaron is listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Louisiana Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers Corporate Counsel Edition. He holds an AV Martindale-Hubbell peer review rating. In 2008, Mr. Aaron received the New Orleans CityBusiness Newspaper’s Leadership in Law Award.

Mr. Aaron is active in bar related activities, and has been a Member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board since January of 2006. Prior to his appointment to the Board he served for five years as a Hearing Committee Chairman and Lawyer Member. Mr. Aaron has served on the Boards of a number of civic and community organizations including: New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, New Orleans Museum of Art, Visiting Committee of Loyola Law School, New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative, Big Sisters of Greater New Orleans, Crimestoppers, Mental Health Association of Greater New Orleans, Volunteers of America, and Travelers Aid Society of Greater New Orleans.

CHARLES C. BEARD JR., Public Member: Mr. Beard was first appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2005. The Louisiana Supreme Court re-appointed Mr. Beard to a second term commencing on January 1, 2008

STEPHEN F. CHICCARELLI, Lawyer Member: Mr. Chiccarelli was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2010.

JOHN T. COX, Jr., Lawyer Member: Mr. Cox is a practicing attorney and mediator and is the senior director in the Shreveport law firm of Blanchard, Walker, O'Quin and Roberts, APLC. Mr. Cox holds a B.S degree in Business Administration and Public Administration from LSU and a J.D. degree from the LSU Law Center.

In addition to being admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Louisiana, he is also admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeal for the 5th, 8th and 11th Circuits, the United States District Courts for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana, and the Eastern District of Texas as well as the United States Tax Court.

Mr. Cox has over forty years of legal experience, handling both transactions and litigation in virtually every aspect of general practice, with greater emphasis on labor and employment law, business and corporate affairs and litigation. Mr. Cox also is a qualified mediator.

Mr. Cox is a frequent speaker at CLE programs around the state and has served as adjunct lecturer in business law and ethics at both LSUS and Centenary College. He has served as President of the Shreveport Bar Association and is currently serving as President of the Committee of One Hundred, a group of business and professional leaders committed to do all things of a civic, educational, and charitable nature to promote community relations and the general welfare of the cities of Shreveport and Bossier, their respective parishes and the surrounding area of northwest Louisiana. Mr. Cox holds the designation of Senior Master of the Bar in the Harry V. Booth and Judge Henry A. Politz American Inn of Court, is the recipient of the Valley Forge Freedom Foundation's George Washington Honor Medal and is listed in "Who's Who in American Law." He has formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of Legal Services of North Louisiana, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Shreveport as a member of Board of Directors and Treasurer of the Shreveport Symphony.

Mr. Cox was appointed to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board in 2009. Prior to his appointment to the Disciplinary Board, Mr. Cox served as a Hearing Committee Chairman and prior to that as a Lawyer Member of a Hearing Committee.

GEORGE L. CRAIN, Jr. Public Member: Mr. Crain is a graduate of Nicholls State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Economics in May of 1969. He served in the U.S. Army from June 1969 through 1971 when he received an honorable discharge. He is currently the President of WHC, Inc. since 1976 and is responsible for all operations of the business. Mr. Crain is active in numerous professional and civic activities including the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry; Member of the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors; Westpac Area Committee; Chairman of the Louisiana Oilfield Legislative Committee since 1988; Performing Arts Society of Acadiana; Lafayette Chamber of Commerce and the Bayou Vermillion Commission from 1989 to 1998.

Mr. Crain served as a hearing committee member from 2003 to 2008. He was appointed to serve as a member of the Board in 2009.

JAMES R. DAGATE, Lawyer Member: Mr. Dagate was first appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2005. The Louisiana Supreme Court re-appointed Mr. Dagate to a second term commencing on January 1, 2008

DOW M. EDWARDS, Lawyer Member: Mr. Edwards served as managing editor of the Southern University Law Review, a member of the Moot Court Board and a member of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity during law school. In addition, he was named to the Golden Key National Honor Society and received Best Team Southern University Law Center Moot Court Competition honors. Mr. Edwards is the author of Fleming v. HCA Health Services of Louisiana: "Patient Dumping", Louisiana Revised Statute 40:2113.6 and the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), 27 S.U. L. Rev. 215 (2000).

He served as a law clerk for the Honorable Pascal F. Calogero, Jr., Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, and as an Adjutant General officer in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Corps, otherwise known as America's Guard of Honor. Mr. Edwards also is a former paralegal, claims adjuster, and professional football player. He serves on the Board of Directors for Oasis Community Development Corporation.

He is admitted to the practice of law in the State of Louisiana the Louisiana Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Eastern, Western and Middle Districts of Louisiana. In addition, he is a member of the Federal Bar Association, American Bar Association, National Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, New Orleans Bar Association, National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, and American Inns of Court.

Mr. Edwards practice areas are Railroad and Transportation Law, Casualty Litigation, Class Actions & Complex Litigation, Products Liability, and Toxic Torts.

LILA TRITICO HOGAN, LSBA Representative: Ms. Hogan is a partner in the law firm of Hogan & Hogan in Hammond where her practice is concentrated in the area of domestic law, primarily in collaborative law and mediation. She graduated from LSU Law Center in 1975, and clerked for Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Albert Tate, Jr. Ms. Hogan is a Board Certified Family Law Specialist.

She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Collaborative Professionals Group of Southeast Louisiana and was the organizer and chair of the 21st Collaborative Practice Group. She is a past-Chair of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board, having served on the Board for six years, and currently serves again as the Louisiana State Bar Association representative on the Board.

During her career, Lila has also served as Director of the North Louisiana Legal Assistance Corporation and Director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. In 1986, she was voted Louisiana’s Outstanding Young Lawyer by the LSBA’s Young Lawyer Section, and in 2001, she received the LSBA’s President’s Award. She has chaired the LSBA Practice Assistance and Improvement Committee (PAIC), and served on the LSBA Family Law Advisory Commission and the Supreme Court Committee on the Prevention of Lawyer Misconduct. Lila is past chair of the Publications Subcommittee of the LSBA Rules of Professional Conduct Committee and the Ethics Advisory Service Committee, and was past chair of the Practice Aid Guide Subcommittee of the PAIC.

She has taught at Loyola Law School, LSU Law School, the LSBA’s Ethics School, Bridging the Gap, MCLE for New Admittees, and numerous seminars on ethics, collaborative divorce, community property, law office management, and professionalism.

Lila is married to Attorney Thomas J. Hogan, Jr., and the mother of four children, ages 19 - 27.

KIM LEIJA, Public Member: Ms. Leija was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2010.

RALPH K. LEE, JR., Lawyer Member: Mr. Lee was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2009.

EDWIN G. PREIS, JR., Lawyer Member: Mr. Preis is the Managing Partner and founder of Preis & Roy, a regional defense law firm with offices in Lafayette, New Orleans, and Houston. Mr. Preis earned his undergraduate B.A. Degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1969, and obtained his Juris Doctorate Degree from the LSU Law Center in 1972. Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Preis served as a Law Clerk for the Honorable Nauman S. Scott, U.S. District Judge, Western District of Louisiana (1972-1974).

Mr. Preis is licensed to practice in Louisiana and Texas. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the United States District Courts for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the Southern District of Texas. Mr. Preis is a member of the American Bar Association, Federal Bar Association, Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, Louisiana State Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, Lafayette Parish Bar Association, Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel, Defense Research Institute, Maritime Law Association of the United States, and Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute.

Mr. Preis is listed in Best Lawyers in America, Louisiana Super Lawyers, and holds an AV Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating. Mr. Preis served as a faculty member for the LSU Law Center’s Trial Advocacy Training Program in 1992 and 1993, and currently serves on the LSU Law Center’s Board of Trustees.

Mr. Preis has approximately thirty-eight (38) years of legal experience, and maintains an active litigation practice focused primarily on maritime and energy disputes, many of which are high profile, complex and involve major casualties.

Mr. Preis has been a member of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board since January of 2010. Prior to his appointment to the Board, he served for seven years as a Hearing Committee Chairman.

LINDA P. SPAIN, Public Member: Ms. Spain was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2007.

R. STEVEN TEW, Lawyer Member: Mr. Tew was appointed to the Disciplinary Board in 2010.

Administrative Committee: Michael S. Walsh, Chair; Lila Tritico Hogan, LSBA Representative; James R. Dagate, Lawyer Member; Ralph K. Lee, Jr., Lawyer Member; Linda P. Spain, Public Member

Adjudicative Committee:

[Panel A]: Dow M. Edwards, Panel Chair; Edwin G. Preis, Jr., Lawyer Member; Charles C. Beard, Jr., Public Member

[Panel B]: John T. Cox, Jr., Panel Chair; R. Steven Tew, Lawyer Member; George L. Crain, Public Member

[Panel C]: William D. Aaron, Jr., Adjudicative Committee/Panel Chair; Stephen F. Chiccarelli, Lawyer Member; Kim Leija, Public Member

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