Lawyer who represented Lamonte McIntyre in murder trial has law license suspended
The Kansas Supreme Court indefinitely suspended the law license of a Kansas City, Kansas, lawyer who is a former president of the Wyandotte County Bar Association, the court announced Friday.
Gary W. Long was suspended indefinitely from practicing in Kansas because of multiple violations to the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct, the court ruled. The court cited violations from the representation of two clients in criminal matters and a case involving a property title, and mishandling of client funds, according to court documents.
Long was the lawyer representing Lamonte McIntyre when he was wrongfully convicted of a double murder in 1994. McIntyre, who was 18 during the trial, spent 23 years in jail before he was exonerated in 2017.
According to oral arguments on May 18, Long failed to diligently pursue cases for which he had already been paid by a client, and he failed to communicate with the clients regarding the status of their cases. Long also deposited funds he received from clients into his operating account rather than his trust account, according to court documents.
During oral arguments, Long cited depression as a reason for the lapse in his work. Long asked the court to give him a probation period, but the court ruled that an indefinite suspension was appropriate.
It is not the first time Long has faced disciplinary action by the court.
Past disciplinary actions
Long was originally admitted to the practice of law in Kansas in 1988.
He was disbarred 10 years later, in 1998, when he voluntarily surrendered his license while a disciplinary case was pending against him, according to court documents. He was also the subject of disciplinary sanctions in 1992 and 1994.
In September 2015, Long was reinstated after he retook and passed the bar exam and went through a reinstatement hearing.
“I became an attorney and asked for reinstatement of my license because I want to help people,” Long told the court during oral arguments. “A lot of my clients need help, some of them just need some guidance, and I thank this court for giving me that opportunity.”
The conduct that led to his indefinite suspension began four years after he was reinstated, said Matthew Vogelsberg, who represented the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator during oral arguments.
Long acted as the 2021 president of the Wyandotte County Bar Association. Presidents serve for one-year terms, and the current president is Joseph A. DeWoskin, according to the organization’s website.
The bar association did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
This story was originally published June 17, 2022 at 4:40 PM.
