Austin-Area Lawyer Facing Disbarment After Conspiracy Conviction
Manor attorney Jamie Balagia's conviction is likely to bring compulsory discipline by the State Bar of Texas, and the nature of his crimes will probably mean disbarment, according to legal ethics attorneys.
October 30, 2019 at 06:00 PM
4 minute read
Aside from facing a 30-year prison sentence, Austin-area attorney Jamie Balagia will probably be disbarred because of his conviction Tuesday in a case that alleged he scammed Colombian drug traffickers whom he represented.
Prosecutors showed Balagia, a Manor attorney who bills himself as "The DWI Dude," and three co-conspirators swindled three clients, charging them hundreds of thousands of dollars, and telling them they could bribe judges and prosecutors in the U.S. to dismiss the clients' charges or get them lenient sentences. In reality, there were no government officials who were bribed.
The attorney has a public disciplinary history that includes a 2003 public reprimand and a 2014 fully probated suspension—the latter involved a client who's also mentioned in Balagia's indictment. His conviction is likely to bring compulsory discipline by the State Bar of Texas, and the nature of his crimes will probably mean disbarment, according to legal ethics attorneys.
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