Legal Matters

Lafayette attorney faces forgery charge

Law enforcement officials allege Harold Register Jr. forged a client’s $12,500 check and deposited the money into his account.

Harold Register Jr.
Image courtesy LPCC

Prominent Lafayette attorney Harold Register Jr. surrendered himself to the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office the evening of Friday, April 21, facing a charge of forgery.

His bond was set at $50,000.

On Thursday, Lafayette Magistrate Thomas Frederick had issued an arrest warrant for Register on the forgery charge resulting from an investigation by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office.

In a press release, the office says it “developed probable cause that Harold Register forged one of his client’s checks. The check was valued at $12,500 and deposited into his account.”

According to legal ethicist Dane Ciolino's Louisiana Legal Ethics March newsletter, the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board recommended that Register be suspended from the practice of law for three years followed by a two-year probationary period and ordered to pay restitution.

According to the newsletter:

(Register) was the subject of two separate charges citing the following rule violations: upon receipt of settlement funds, the respondent failed to disburse money to the client or third parties and, instead, converted the property for an extended period. He also failed to provide adequate representation by failing to answer pleadings filed by the opposing party and by failing to attend a scheduled court appearance.