Supreme Court reinstates 2 lawyers, 1 conditionally

A northern Indiana lawyer with a lengthy criminal history has been conditionally readmitted to the practice of law in Indiana, as has a Louisville lawyer who has not been licensed in the Hoosier state for more than a decade.

Dwight A. Cosby of Louisville was readmitted to the Indiana bar on Jan. 8 following the imposition of a 9-month suspension without automatic reinstatement in April 2006. Cosby has been the subject of two attorney disciplinary actions, according to the Indiana Roll of Attorneys, but a hearing office recommended in October that he be reinstated.

Also reinstated on Jan. 8 was Olubunmi O. Okanlami of Granger, though her reinstatement was conditional. Okanlami resigned from the Indiana bar in January 2013.

Prior to her resignation, Okanlami received an interim suspension in October 2011 after she was convicted that year of misdemeanor battery and felony residential entry. She received a two-year suspended sentence and was ordered to probation, according to online court records.

Okanlami’s 2013 resignation provided that she could not petition for reinstatement for five years.

Online records show that Okanlami’s criminal history grew in the intervening years.

In November 2013, she was convicted of misdemeanor operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Then in October 2015, she was convicted of four misdemeanor counts:

• Resisting law enforcement where the defendant knowingly or intentionally forcibly resists arrest.
• Criminal mischief where the damage is between $750 and $50,000.
• Battery against a public safety officer.
• Disorderly conduct by engaging in fighting or tumultuous conduct.

Okanlami petition for reinstatement in October 2019, and a hearing officer recommended her reinstatement in October 2020.

“This Court, being duly advised, finds that the recommendation of the hearing officer should be accepted and that (Okanlami) should be conditionally reinstated as a member of the Indiana bar and placed on probation for a period of two years, during which time Petitioner shall remain under a monitoring agreement with the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program and shall comply with all terms of that agreement. Upon expiration of the probationary period, Petitioner may petition for release from probation provided she has fully complied with the terms of her probation,” the unanimous Supreme Court order states.

Both Cosby and Okanlami must pay any costs owing under Admission and Discipline Rule 23(21)(b).

The disciplinary orders are available here.