Recent news accounts about Hot Springs lawyer Andrea Davis prompted an emergency suspension of her law license by the Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct, committee Director Stark Ligon said Friday.
Davis, 36, whose relationship with Attorney General Dustin McDaniel led him to drop out of the governor’s race, was arrested by the Garland County sheriff’s office on two felony theft charges in January.
“Obviously we do pay attention to what is in the public domain and the public media,” Ligon said.
The one-page order of interim suspension states that the suspension is necessary because Davis “presently poses a substantial threat of serious harm to the public and to her clients if she continues to practice law.”
Ligon said he is not allowed to say how Davis poses a threat. The order states that the committee “finds the allegations of the petition are ‘serious misconduct,’ and involve alleged violations of the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct.”
An interim suspension is not common, Ligon said.
“We probably don’t use it more than once a year,” he said. “This is an emergency, no-notice type of process.”
Davis’ attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, said his client will not challenge the suspension immediately but perhaps will appeal it in the future.
“The plan is to get some issues in her life straightened out, recover from some illness,” he said.
Court rules specify that a suspension can last indefinitely.
Davis was arrested twice on charges of theft by receiving more than $1,000, which is a felony. She was released on a $3,500 bond.
“She hasn’t been found to have done anything wrong,” Rosenweig said.
Davis has also been questioned in the Feb. 29, 2012, death of Hot Springs resident Maxwell Anderson. Anderson’s body was found in the driveway of Davis’ residence, and she was escorted from the home in handcuffs when deputies responded.
A police report states Anderson was shot by Davis’ brother, Matthew Davis. No one has been charged in Anderson’s death.
For now, Davis is working to address “stressors” in her life, her attorney said.
“We have to concentrate on resolving those issues,” Rosenzweig said. “She just has too many other things going on in her life. We need to get those resolved first [before appealing the suspension of her license].”
Rosenzweig said Davis had already been working to withdraw from cases handled by her firm, the Andi Davis Law Office. The phone number for the office has been disconnected.
The website for her office, which states she specializes in alimony, child support, separation and child custody cases, does not state the office has closed.
Davis was admitted to the bar in April 2008. According to the Arkansas Supreme Court website, this is the first public disciplinary action she’s faced.
McDaniel withdrew from the 2014 governor’s race Jan. 25, 2013, weeks after disclosing an inappropriate relationship with Davis in 2011.
The trouble first came to light in an Oct. 31 Garland County court filing.
As part of a child-custody dispute, Dr. Frederick Day III asked his ex-wife, Andrea Davis, to admit that she’d had sex with McDaniel and several other men.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/22/2014