Houston trial attorney Robert “Bob” Bennett was denied the opportunity to use mediation to decide the sanctions he will face in his disciplinary suit.   The request was denied by Judge Craig Smith of Dallas in mid-May.   The request was opposed by the Commission for Lawyer Discipline and the organization claimed Bennet had asked for it as a delay tactic.  

The Commission pointed out to the judge that by the time a mediation was held and then a sanction hearing was held, Bennett would have been able to continue to practice law for months.  

According to documents associated with the disciplinary suit, Bennett was disbarred in March 2014, but was able to again practice law in March 2016 after an appeals court reversed the initial decision regarding his disbarring.   The appeals court claimed the evidence against Bennett was insufficient in proving Bennett had violated two rules. 

Bennett’s May 3^rd motion for mediation alleged that the Commission for Lawyer Discipline had provided no new evidence that he should face sanctions and claimed that mediation would be the best way to determine a fair resolution to the matter.   Bennett further argued that other Texas attorneys, including 2500 Houston lawyers who voted to elect him to the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors, obviously supported him.   Bennett lost the vote overall by only three percent. 

The commission requested Bennett’s mediation request be denied on the grounds it had previously been attempted in August 2014 and was unsuccessful.   The organization also claimed Bennett waited too long to request mediation.