Supreme Court orders LV attorney disbarred

Thursday, Jan. 10, 2002 | 9:24 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The Nevada Supreme Court Wednesday ordered Las Vegas attorney Anita Cionni disbarred because of misconduct in handling an estate case in which she took fees before the court approved the disbursement.

The court upheld a recommendation by the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board of the state Bar, which found Cionni failed to provide an adequate billing statement in support of her claimed fees and took the money prior to a judge's approval.

The disciplinary board said Cionni left the estate case in "disarray."

Cionni did not attend the formal hearing on the complaint, and the disciplinary board said she showed no remorse.

In another case, the court temporarily suspended Las Vegas attorney Leslie M. Stovall from practicing law, pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings.

Stovall was convicted last year in federal court of filing a false tax return in November last year. He was placed on probation, fined and ordered to make restitution to the government.

In a third case, the court suspended for six months Joe Laub, an attorney who practices in Reno and Lake Tahoe and who advertises heavily on television.

The court supported the Northern Nevada Disciplinary Board, which found Laub failed to make an effort to reduce the medical bills of one of his clients who was injured in an accident; that he allowed his law clerks to negotiate contracts with clients and that he permitted a third party to look through his files, which violated the attorney-client privilege.