What Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board does

The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) is a statewide regulatory agency established in 1990 by the Supreme Court of Louisiana to administer the lawyer discipline and disability system. It operates under the inherent, plenary and constitutional authority of the Louisiana Supreme Court and was the first state in the nation to adopt the self-regulatory model recommended by the American Bar Association. The Board comprises 14 lawyer and non-lawyer members appointed by the Court, supported by a small professional staff led by the Chief Disciplinary Counsel (Charles B. Plattsmier), and is supplemented by volunteer hearing committees across roughly 20 Louisiana cities. Its primary mission is to protect the public by investigating complaints of attorney ethical misconduct and recommending discipline to the Supreme Court; it processes over 3,000 complaints annually, with approximately 10% resulting in private or public discipline.

The LADB's core products are delivered through a web-based platform at www.ladb.org and include the Trust Account Registration Portal (mandatory annual disclosure under Supreme Court Rule XIX), Online and Live CLE programs (including the 'True Attorney' series and '25 Years // 25 Faces'), an Attorney Status Search, a Complaint Filing System, disciplinary cost payment processing, reinstatement/readmission applications, and a public decisions and rules database. Its business model is driven by mandatory, non-discretionary revenue streams: annual LADB assessments collected via the Louisiana State Bar Association ($170 for attorneys admitted three years or less; $235 for those admitted more than three years), $450 pro hac vice application fees, $25 delinquency and reinstatement penalties, and paid on-demand CLE at $20 per credit hour. Customers are effectively all Louisiana-licensed attorneys (a captive regulatory constituency) plus the general public who may file complaints or request disciplinary history.

Name

Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board

Legal name

Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board

Website

https://ladb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board is a statewide regulatory agency established in 1990 by the Louisiana Supreme Court to administer lawyer discipline, investigate ethical misconduct complaints, and regulate attorney compliance across Louisiana.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Regulatory Services

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (92615), Legal Services (5411), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Prosecution & District/State Attorney Services (BPAIAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

State/Provincial Courts & Judicial Administration (BPAIABAE)

Keywords

• Attorney discipline system
• Lawyer misconduct investigation
• Legal ethics regulation
• Professional discipline board
• Continuing legal education

Headquarters

HQ city

Metairie

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. LADB Assessment Fees: Annual disciplinary assessments collected from Louisiana attorneys. Admitted 3 years or less: $170.00. Admitted more than 3 years: $235.00. Collected through Louisiana State Bar Association membership dues.
2. Pro Hac Vice Application Fees: Application fee of $450 for attorneys seeking permission to appear in Louisiana courts in specific cases.
3. Delinquency and Reinstatement Fees: $25 delinquency penalty for late trust account registration; $25 reinstatement fee for attorneys certified ineligible to practice.
4. On-Demand CLE Fees: Online continuing legal education programs such as '25 Years // 25 Faces' available for $20 per credit hour.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) is the sole statewide agency administering attorney discipline in Louisiana, investigating allegations of lawyer misconduct, processing complaints, conducting hearings, and recommending discipline to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Founded in 1990 as the first state to adopt the ABA-recommended self-regulatory model, it also manages attorney trust account registration, annual assessments, Pro Hac Vice applications, reinstatement applications, and CLE program approval.

Product overview

The Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) operates a comprehensive regulatory platform for attorney discipline in Louisiana. The organization provides a unified suite of digital services including the Trust Account Registration Portal for mandatory annual disclosure of attorney trust accounts, Online and Live CLE Seminars for continuing legal education credit, Attorney Status Search for public verification of attorney standing, Complaint Filing System for reporting attorney misconduct, and access to disciplinary decisions, rules, and publications. The platform is primarily web-based, offering attorney account management, online payments, and self-service resources through www.ladb.org.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NOTA BENE: Monthly email newsletter featuring ethics, professionalism and board developments

Products and services

• Disciplinary Investigations and Hearings

Quantifiable outcome

• Approximately 10% of complaints result in private or public discipline
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Louisiana Supreme CourtcoreOthers · 1 January 1990LADB was established by the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1990 as a statewide agency to administer the lawyer discipline and disability system. Members are appointed by the Court, and the Court reviews all disciplinary recommendations before issuing final rulings.
• Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for collection of LADB assessments and bar dues through LSBA membership dues. LSBA also administers the Client Assistance Fund referenced on LADB's Useful Links page.
• National Council of Lawyer Disciplinary Boards (NCLDB)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization for lawyer disciplinary boards; listed as a useful link on LADB's Resources page for reference and benchmarking.
• American Bar Association Center for Professional ResponsibilityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerABA provides Model Rules of Professional Responsibility and ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions; Louisiana was first state to adopt ABA's recommended self-regulatory model.
• Louisiana Bar FoundationminorOthersHandles unidentified funds from IOLTA accounts per Rule 1.15 amendments; administers pro bono MCLE credit program and executes overdraft disclosure agreements with banks.
• Approved Banks NetworkminorOthersOver 100 participating/approved banks authorized to hold attorney trust accounts and report overdrafts to LADB per Supreme Court Rule XIX requirements. Includes major banks (Chase, Regions, Hancock Whitney) and Louisiana-based institutions.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• State Bar of California: California's integrated (mandatory) state bar operates the largest attorney discipline system in the U.S., with formal investigation, hearing, and disciplinary recommendation functions analogous to LADB's role in Louisiana.
• State Bar of Georgia: Georgia's mandatory bar operates a State Disciplinary Board and review panel structure that mirrors LADB's combination of lawyer and non-lawyer members conducting misconduct hearings.
• The Florida Bar: Florida's integrated bar administers statewide attorney discipline through its Discipline Branch and grievance process, performing the same combination of complaint investigation, CLE oversight, and trust account monitoring that LADB executes in Louisiana.
• New York State Bar Association — Attorney Discipline: Although the NYSBA itself is a voluntary bar, its disciplinary committees under the Appellate Division oversight system perform complaint investigation and hearings comparable to LADB's process.
• State Bar of Texas: Texas's integrated bar runs a Commission for Lawyer Discipline with investigatory, prosecutorial, and adjudicatory functions structurally comparable to LADB's Office of Disciplinary Counsel and Board.
• Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR): Wisconsin's OLR is a Supreme Court-directed agency that handles attorney discipline, trust account oversight, and CLE administration in a manner functionally identical to LADB's mandate in Louisiana.
• Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC): The ARDC is a standalone agency (separate from the Illinois State Bar) that investigates and prosecutes lawyer misconduct in Illinois — the closest structural analog to LADB's dedicated disciplinary agency model.

Others

• National Council of Lawyer Disciplinary Boards (NCLDB): NCLDB is the membership organization of state lawyer disciplinary boards; LADB is a member, and the body facilitates benchmarking and best-practice sharing across state-level disciplinary agencies.
• Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA): LSBA is LADB's distribution partner for collecting annual assessments and bar dues; the two organizations are operationally intertwined but structurally separate, with LSBA serving the membership-services function LADB does not.

Broad incumbents

• ABA Center for Professional Responsibility: The ABA's Center develops the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility and Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions that LADB adopts and applies — setting the framework within which LADB operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board